If you love hand drawn poster art, the kind we just don’t see anymore in the age of computer illustrated ad campaigns, you probably know the work of Drew Struzan.
The major studios insist on the star’s photograph selling a movie, but Struzan is the favorite poster artist for Lucas and Spielberg, and both directors had the clout to get Struzan to illustrate their ad campaigns no matter what the studios wanted.
Struzan has illustrated many Star Wars ad campaigns, and he also illustrated the posters for Harry Potter, Back to the Future, Goonies, The Thing, and too many other great movies to list.
Yet officially Struzan retired several years back, which was really the end of an era for hand illustrated poster art. Still, when the Empire calls, you go, and Struzan may indeed be coming back to illustrate the posters for the next Star Wars films.
As Struzan told Indie Wire and Fanhattan, “I got a couple calls already this week on Star Wars from Disney. Oh my god, I’m trying to be retired! You know, I spent 35 years painting Star Wars. I painted Star Wars before most of you were born. But I guess there is always a chance.”
Struzan continued that if the opportunity comes back, “It will be a real temptation. But it’s going to have to be a real temptation to get me away from my wife and my little grandkids and my family. Away from the green trees and the blues skies for a change instead of just locked in the studio. But, you know, never say never. All things are possible.”
Although Lucas is no longer running the empire, Struzan loved working with him all those years, and it would be great to see him come back and illustrate the ad campaigns for the next Star Wars trilogy. It would also be great to see hand drawn poster art making a comeback as well, and we can’t think of anyone better to help bring it back.
