The art of Drew Struzan has become as inseparable from Star Wars as the music of John Williams. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine cinema culture in the seventies and eighties without his Back to the Future or Indiana Jones or An American Tail, or pretty much anything else of that era that involved either Stephen Spielberg or Harrison Ford. So it should come as no surprise that Disney is interested in getting him back for their continuation of the Franchise.
Fanhattan recently interviewed Struzan and Sam Witwer of Being Human, in honor of Struzan’s recently completed poster for the show. Struzan is nominally retired, but as Witwer puts it, that just means “Drew does only what he wants now.” Luckily for Witwer, Struzan’s a fan of Being Human. Given current events, Fanhattan naturally asked whether he was going to have any role in the reenergizing of the Star Wars franchise. Struzan answered candidly:
In fact, 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. [laughs] I painted Star Wars before most of you were born! But I guess there is always a chance. There’s no intention. But I would love to have a day off every now and again, and I have to work a weekend and all through the night. If the opportunity arises, 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 blue skies for a change instead of just locked in the studio. But, you know, never say never. All things are possible.
So the question isn’t whether Disney wants Struzan back, but whether their demands of him would exceed what he wants. Let’s cross our fingers that we at least get a new poster out of it. You can read the whole interview right here.
