'A temple to the people's art': Everything we know about the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

After decades of shaping galaxies far, far away, George Lucas finally made his debut at San Diego Comic-Con - the annual pop culture mega-event.

It was Sunday afternoon when the 81-year-old veteran filmmaker, dressed, in his usual flannel shirt and jeans, stepped on stage at the convention to thunderous applause, with John Williams’ iconic score for Star Wars swelling around the hall.

But instead of teasing a new film or reviving an old franchise, Lucas was there for something far more personal: to talk about his very own museum.

Co-founded with his wife, businesswoman Mellody Hobson, The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is a passion project that’s been decades in the making. Set to open in Los Angeles in 2026, it promises to be a space that reflects Lucas’ lifelong obsession with storytelling across genres, eras, and mediums.

“This is sort of a temple to the people’s art,” Lucas told the crowd.

"(Art) is more about a connection and emotional connection with the work, not how much it cost or what celebrity did it. I don’t think it’s anything anyone will tell you. If you have emotional connection, it’s art. If you don’t, just move onto the next painting,” Lucas added.

Here's everything that's been revealed about this ambitious project so far:

A museum that looks like a starship

Designed by visionary architect Ma Yansong, of Chinese architecture firm MAD Architects, the museum's sleek, curved exterior resembles a giant spaceship - an appropriate design for the man who gave us the Millennium Falcon.

Once completed, the five-story structure will span 300,000 square feet, making it about the size of a typical IKEA store.

It will sit on 11 acres of landscaped green space next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the University of Southern California, where Lucas once studied.

So what will be inside?

While Lucas is adamant that the museum is not a shrine dedicated to Star Wars, fans of the sci-fi franchise will still have plenty to geek out over inside.

A sizzle reel, shown exclusively at the panel and narrated by Mace Windu himself, Samuel L. Jackson, previewed a number of Star Wars items that will be on display, including General Grievous’s bike, the original landspeeder, and Anakin Skywalker’s spaceship from The Phantom Menace.

Many of these Star Wars works, also including artworks by legendary concept artist Ralph McQuarrie, will be housed in the museum’s cinema gallery.

But the scope of the museum goes far beyond a single franchise.

Attendees of the panel were shown highlights from Lucas' personal collection, which includes paintings by Mexican icon Frida Kahlo and American painter Norman Rockwell, comic art by R. Crumb and Jack Kirby, and the first character drawing of Flash Gordon from 1934.

Other marvels inside the futuristic building will include original Charles Schulz Peanuts strips from the 1950s and ’60s, the first pen-and-ink splash page of Black Panther from 1968 and even the original drawing from the first Iron Man comic cover.

Aside from expansive gallery space, the museum will also feature two cinemas, classrooms, a library, a restaurant, and a gift shop. The surrounding parkland will remain open to the public.

When is the museum set to open?

The museum was originally slated for completion in 2021, but the pandemic and the complexity of the build pushed the timeline back.

While no specific opening date has been announced, it is set to open its futuristic doors in 2026.