First Look: Star Wars creator George Lucas’ new LA museum

US filmmaker George Lucas has unveiled his long-awaited Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, a futuristic cultural landmark dedicated to the power of visual storytelling.

The museum, founded by Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson, will open to the public on September 22, 2026, at Exposition Park. The project has taken years to complete, with Lucas describing the journey as one driven by his fascination with taking on challenges others considered impossible.

Designed by architect Ma Yansong of MAD Architects, the striking 300,000-square-foot building houses more than 100,000 square feet of gallery space across more than 30 galleries.

Its collection goes far beyond Lucas’ Star Wars universe, bringing together paintings, illustrations, comics, photography and cinema. Works by artists including Frida Kahlo, Norman Rockwell and Jack Kirby are displayed alongside film memorabilia and material from the Lucas archives.

The museum aims to give popular and commercial forms of storytelling the same recognition traditionally given to fine art.

For Lucas, the ambitious project is ultimately about celebrating the universal human desire to tell stories through images.

 Video: AFP