The Force was strong in San Diego over the weekend as George Lucas made his Comic-Con debut. The Star Wars creator joined Oscar-winning artist and Lucasfilm senior vice president Doug Chiang, Oscar-winning filmmaker and Lucas Museum board member Guillermo del Toro and panel moderator Queen Latifah to talk about what Angelenos—and the scores of people the museum will undoubtedly draw to L.A.—have to look forward to from the eagerly awaited Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
“We’re here today because my dear friend Goerge wanted to create a space where anyone could come and be inspired by the same art that inspired him,” Queen Latifah said to introduce Lucas. And while it was light on concrete details (like a specific opening date), the panel featured an interesting discussion of the upcoming museum that drew over 6,000 to Hall H on the final day of this year’s Comic-Con. The creative minds assembled talked about the importance of narrative art—which “tells the story of a society” and its common beliefs, according to Lucas—and shared some of the highlights of the museum’s collection.
Speaking to the Comic-Con crowd about the mission of the museum, Lucas explained that he’s worked with hundreds of illustrators in his career, but lamented the fact that they don’t receive enough recognition. To that end, he said his museum will be “a temple to the people’s art.” On his part, Chiang said he hopes that the Lucas Museum “will inspire the next Norman Rockwell or Frank Frazetta.”
And now for a bit of background on the museum itself. By now you’re likely familiar with the verdant spaceship that’s landed in Exposition Park between the Natural History Museum and the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. The curvaceous building topped with solar panels and gardens adds something decidedly different to L.A.’s architectural scene. Work on the $1-billion museum first broke ground in March 2018 after Los Angeles was chosen as the museum’s home (San Francisco and Chicago were the other contenders). But due to delays including pandemic-related supply-chain issues, the opening date has been pushed back from 2021 to 2022 to 2023 to 2025 to finally (fingers crossed!) 2026.
Situated on 11 acres, once it’s completed the five-story, 300,000-square-foot museum will feature not only gallery space but two state-of-the-art theaters, as well as classrooms, a library, dining options and a gift shop. Outside, the lush landscaping is a draw unto itself—the green spaces will double as a public park open to all, no ticket needed.
Inside the galleries, you’ll find more than an institutionalized shrine to Star Wars, as might be expected. In fact, the “Narrative Art” part of the museum’s moniker reflects a collection Lucas has been amassing for the past 50 years, made up of tens of thousands of artworks that reflect the importance of illustrated storytelling. So you’ll find pieces by Norman Rockwell, Frida Kahlo, Jack Kirby, R. Crumb, Beatrix Potter, N.C. Wyeth, photographer Dorothea Lange and more modern names like cartoonist Alison Bechdel all under the same roof—in short, something for everyone. Some recently announced collection highlights include the first-ever Flash Gordon comic strip, an original splash page from Black Panther (1968) and original Peanuts strips from the 1950s and ’60s.
But worry not, Star Wars fans: The museum will also house the Lucas Archive—think props, costumes, concept art and more that trace the trajectory of Lucas’s filmmaking career.