One of fantasy and science-fiction’s all-time great artists has died. Artist Greg Hildebrandt, known for his iconic work on Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Marvel and Magic: The Gathering, died Thursday at the age of 85. He and his twin brother Tim, who died in 2006, were a powerful duo — the Brothers Hildebrandt — until they decided to pursue solo careers in 1981.
The pair were perhaps best known for their “Style B” poster (above) for the original Star Wars in 1977. Released in the UK (Tom Jung’s “Style A” was the original US poster), the art shows Luke Skywalker heroically raising his lightsaber above his head just as King Arthur used Excalibur. On either side of him are blaster-wielding Princess Leia, and C-3PO and R2-D2 watching them from behind. Darth Vader’s impressive mask watches them amid a sea of stars, the Death Star and starfighters in the background.
As for Luke and Leia’s notable lack of resemblance to Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, neither the Brothers Hildebrandt nor Jung had access to photographs of the actors. So, they made do with generic hero images that could have been taken from 1970s fantasy book covers. (Still fantastic, if not screen-accurate.) The Hildebrandt poster was used in the UK until January 1978, when it was replaced by Tom Chantrell’s “Style C” poster, which depicted the actual cast.
The brothers also had a deep connection with a series of Lord of the Rings calendars. Decades before Peter Jackson brought the films to live action (and even before the 1978 animated version), their art – which was influenced by the classic Disney films – was the most prominent visualization of Tolkien’s epic for many 1970s fantasy readers.
Hildebrandt’s many other projects included comics for Marvel and DC, illustrations for Wizards of the Coast (Magic: The Gathering and Harry Potter), Omni, Heavy Metal and Amazing Stories magazines, album art for Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Black Sabbath, and a long list of book covers.
Hildebrandt also fought for freedom with his artistic talents. After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, he contributed illustrations for the Operation USA benefit anthology comic book series. The profits were donated to Ukrainian refugee relief efforts. Explaining his decision, he wrote, “Any project I can lend my art to that will thwart Putin is a project I will join with my whole heart, soul and mind.”
Sony has released the first proper look at Until Dawn, the movie adaptation of Supermassive’s own adventure horror game. Rather than offer a teaser or trailer, the company has opted to release more of a vignette, in which the film’s writers and director explain how their project differs from the game.
As revealed during Sony’s CES 2025 keynote last week, Until Dawn features a new story and different characters from the original work. Director David F. Sandberg (Lights Out, Shazam!) says the film has “the same kind of tone, the same vibe, but it expands the universe.”
In the game, the characters’ fate is determined by your narrative choices, many of which lead to them dying a gruesome death. Sandberg explained that the same thing will happen here, as things will restart and characters will have to try again after everything is gone. “Every time they come back to life, it’s like they’re in a new horror genre,” the director said. “They have to survive until dawn to survive.”