"I came from the old school of special effects. Prior to Star Wars, everything was based around what you could do with your idea for a shot—you could not get the money to build anything too complex. The reason for that is simple. People were not making sci-fi movies much before Star Wars."
―Dennis Muren[src]

Dennis Muren (born November 1, 1946) is a special effects artist who worked on the first five Star Wars films. He is also one of the members of the Intellectual Property Development Group.[1]


Muren was born in Glendale, California to Elmer Ernest Muren and Charline Louise (née Clayton).[2] He attended Pasadena City College and California State University. During his studies, Muren made a short science fiction movie named Equinox, which was later distributed by Tonylyn Productions, a small film company. Shortly after getting his associate degree in business, Muren was hired at ILM in 1976 to work on George Lucas's upcoming film, Star Wars.[3]

Muren won six Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Innerspace, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Jurassic Park, as well as two Special Achievement Awards for Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.

On June 3, 1999, Muren received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[4]



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