Drew Struzan, Artist Behind Iconic Blockbuster Movie Posters, Dead at 78

Drew Struzan -- the legendary artist who created hand-illustrated posters for blockbuster film classics like "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" -- has died at 78.

Moderators of Struzan’s official Instagram posted that he died Monday, adding ... "I feel it is important that you all know how many times he expressed to me the joy he felt knowing how much you appreciated his art."

No official cause of death has been announced, though it was confirmed back in April that Struzan had been battling Alzheimer’s for some time.

Condolences and praise have flooded the comments ... whose big break came when he was commissioned to design a poster for the 1978 re-release of the 1977 film "Star Wars."

From there, the list is epic ... Drew designed posters for "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "Blade Runner," "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," "The Shawshank Redemption," "Coming to America," "Back to Future," and many more ... racking up more than 150 film posters in his career.

He even popped out of retirement in 2015 to whip up a special poster for "The Force Awakens" -- his last official "Star Wars" piece.

Drew was 78.