As attendees at Star Wars Celebration in London cheered news of a cinema release for Return of the Jedi’s 40th anniversary, Matt Ferguson had more reason than most to be smiling, as it was his artwork promoting the film.
“There must’ve been a couple of thousand fans there. It was like watching a band with lasers and music, and there were people in the audience with lightsabres going crazy,” Matt Ferguson recalls with a wide-eyed grin.
“I can’t think of a more exciting time in my career than that weekend because I was there and part of it and they said my name – ‘poster by Matt Ferguson’.
“There’s lots of pressure because of expectations from fans and my own standards, but also it’s really fun because I’ve loved Star Wars my entire life.
“I’m a fan first. That’s how I got started – doing artwork based on the things I like. It’s almost unreal.”
The 39-year-old from Sheffield was no stranger to depicting Luke Skywalker’s battle against Darth Vader having been commissioned to create a poster for The Empire Strikes Back’s 40th anniversary in 2020.
With the series’ original artwork so familiar to generations of film-goers, that first project proved tough.
Adopting his preferred “storytelling” approach, key themes and emblems were picked out with the imposing Vader centre-stage, flanked by TIE fighters, AT-ATs and Star Destroyers.
“Because it was The Empire Strikes Back, which is the Star Wars movie, I had to come up with something I felt hadn’t been done before – and there’s been a lot of Star Wars art.
“[But] the designs of Star Wars are so good they lend themselves to it. They’re other-worldly.
“It was very much about Darth Vader and then all the iconography of the Empire because they’re chasing down the Rebels.
“With Return of the Jedi, it’s Luke’s story so I have him at the centre of proceedings with Vader looming large.”
It is not just the Star Wars franchise which has called upon his talents, though. As well as being a long-time contributor to the Marvel universe, Batman, Blade Runner and Jurassic Park are among Ferguson’s other projects.
Read the interview in full here. A portrait version of the poster is currently being given away at select screenings of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi at Odeon cinemas in the UK, whilst stocks last.
