Greg Hildebrandt, born on January 23, 1939 and passed away on October 31, 2024, was a celebrated artist. He frequently collaborated with his twin brother, Tim Hildebrandt, and together they became famously known as the Brothers Hildebrandt. Their claim to fame arguably lies in their creation of one of the very first theatrical posters for the movie Star Wars back in 1977.
A distinguishing physical characteristic of Greg was his moustache and beard, setting him apart from his identical twin.
In 1977, 20th Century Fox approached the Hildebrandt brothers with a request to design a poster for the British showing of Star Wars, with a mere ten days to go before its premiere. Tom Jung had already created a promotional poster in the US, but Fox executives found it "too dark". Facing an incredibly tight deadline, the twins worked in shifts, pooling their efforts to complete the artwork in just 36 hours. Their rendition, known as Style B, was widely distributed for use on British cinema billboards and is perhaps their most recognizable piece. Adhering to the same layout as Jung's Style A poster, it features Luke Skywalker in a heroic stance, wielding a radiant lightsaber overhead, with Princess Leia positioned below him, and a prominent, spectral image of Darth Vader's helmet looming in the background. The central figures are surrounded by smaller illustrations of other characters and a montage of starfighters battling amidst a starry expanse. Neither Jung nor the Hildebrandts had access to photographs of the actors when creating their posters, leading Fox and Lucasfilm to later seek a more realistic portrayal of the main characters for promotional purposes. Gary Kurtz then commissioned Tom Chantrell, a film poster artist, to create a new version using film stills and publicity shots. Star Wars debuted in British cinemas on November 28, 1977, and the Hildebrandts' poster was displayed in UK cinemas for approximately two months before being replaced by Chantrell's Style C poster.
The Hildebrandts attended the San Diego Comic-Con in 1995, marking their return to the Star Wars franchise. This return involved illustrating a cover for Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 5 and the 1996 Topps Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire series of trading cards, which was part of the larger Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire multimedia project. His children, Gregory and Mary Hildebrandt, along with his daughter-in-law Olga, served as models in various production photos for the trading card set.
During their involvement in the Shadows project, the brothers visited LucasArts, where Jon Knoles gave them a demonstration of the video game adaptation.
- The Star Wars Album
- The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
- Star Wars: The Art of the Brothers Hildebrandt
- " Blaster " · — Star Wars Insider 152