‘Star Wars’ Fan Creates Hand-Painted New Posters for Sequel Trilogy Inspired by Drew Struzan
Since its inception in 1977, Star Wars has been fortunate to feature the talents of all kinds of incredible artists. Creators like John Williams, Ben Burtt, Rick Baker, John Knoll, and many more who are all highly respected in their fields have done their part over the decades to make Star Wars into the popular saga it is today. That list also includes Drew Struzan, who drew the poster for the first Star Wars and was later rehired to do the posters for the prequel films and the Special Editions of the original trilogy.
Struzan retired in 2008, though he did contribute one last piece to the Star Wars saga when he made a promotional poster for The Force Awakens that was shown at the 2015 D23 Expo. However, even though his style was not replicated for any of the sequel trilogy posters, his legacy left an indeleble impact on today’s fandom. So much so that talented artist Ethan Pro took it upon himself to create new posters for the sequel trilogy movies in a style that deliberately evokes Struzan’s work and that, much like classic movie posters, were actually hand-painted. Check them out below:
Speaking with Gizmodo, Pro explained what motivated him to undertake this project:
“The official posters for these films did not feel like proper continuations of the classic Star Wars film posters that were established by artist Drew Struzan. [So] with these Star Wars posters, I felt it was vital for me to create something really special.”
Pro went on to describe his process for creating the posters:
“The process for these posters was very similar to the method used by Struzan as well. It begins with thumbnail comps sketches, then once a digital comp is approved, I proceed to hand-painting the final poster. This is a three-step process that starts with an underdrawing on a gessoed 30″x40″ board. Once that stage is completed, I will transparently add acrylic color with an airbrush. Finally, I use Prismacolor pencils and opaque paint to bring out the lights.”
One of the many positive qualities about Struzan’s work for the prequel trilogy and Special Editions is how both of those sets of posters each appear like a larger work split into three parts. If you look at all three of the posters in either set, there’s a clear consistency in their art style. That aspect of Struzan’s work wasn’t lost on Pro:
“With these three Star Wars posters, I really strived to make them work as a triptych when hung side-by-side. I was especially proud of this accomplishment.”
The final result of Pro’s work is undeniably impressive as his posters look like they could’ve been made by Struzan himself. Plus, the fact that each one is unique enough to stand alone (you could tell which movie each poster represents even if all the text were removed) but still complements the other two is remarkable. If you want to see more of Pro’s artwork inspired by popular movies and video games, you can head over to his personal website and his Instagram page.
This is the latest example of fan-made complementary material to the Star Wars sequel trilogy inspired by the George Lucas era. Earlier this month, Twitter user @CireSW75 posted on social media and YouTube a self-made menu for The Last Jedi DVD inspired by the Revenge of the Sith style. Rian Johnson even reposted it, adding “MY GOD IT’S BEAUTIFUL”. Apparently, it was also shown to Van Ling, who designed the original Star Wars DVD menus and who “got a real kick out of it”. The user also posted other versions of the menu for The Last Jedi and The Force Awakens, which you can check out on their YouTube channel.
Eric has been a fan of Star Wars ever since the age of five (or so) when his parents sat him down in front of a TV with pizza and a Sprite and showed him the original trilogy. He keeps trying to convince more fans to read the amazing 1980s Star Wars newspaper comics by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson. When he's not reading, watching or playing Star Wars media, he's often enjoying other great fantasy and science fiction sagas or playing roleplaying games with his friends.
