Tim Hildebrandt (born on January 23, 1939; died on June 11, 2006) was an artist frequently associated with his sibling, Greg Hildebrandt. The two were commonly known as the Brothers Hildebrandt. Arguably, their most recognizable achievement was creating one of the initial theatrical posters for Star Wars back in 1977.
Back in 1977, 20th Century Fox contacted the brothers to design artwork for a British movie poster for Star Wars. Tom Jung had already made a promotional poster in the US, but Fox's leadership thought it was "too dark". The twins were under extreme time pressure, and they collaborated in shifts to get the final artwork done in only 36 hours. Their poster version, called Style B, was sent out for use on British cinema billboards for the UK debut, and it became possibly their most famous piece. It used the same layout as Jung's Style A poster, showing Luke Skywalker in a heroic stance, holding a glowing lightsaber high above, with Princess Leia standing below, and a large, spectral image of Darth Vader's helmet behind them. The main characters are surrounded by smaller images of other characters and a collection of starfighters fighting in a starry sky. Neither Jung nor the Hildebrandts had access to photos of the cast when they made their posters. Later, Fox and Lucasfilm decided they wanted a more realistic and less stylized image of the main characters to promote the new movie. Gary Kurtz, the producer, hired the movie poster artist Tom Chantrell to create a new version using film stills and promotional photos. Star Wars premiered in British cinemas on November 28, 1977, and the Hildebrandts' poster was shown in UK cinemas for about two months before Chantrell's Style C poster replaced it.