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First look at Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
One of LA's most anticipated landmarks is nearly ready for its close-up. Good Day LA's Sandra Endo takes us inside to get a first look at the Lucas Museum.
LOS ANGELES - The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will open to the public Sept. 22 in Los Angeles, showcasing works ranging from comic art and commercial illustrations to paintings by Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Andy Warhol.
Dig deeper:
The museum, founded by filmmaker George Lucas and his wife, businesswoman Mellody Hobson, is designed to elevate popular art often overlooked by traditional museums.
An aerial view of the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art before a media preview of the 300,000 square foot structure in Exposition Park on September 2, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
What they're saying:
"That’s really what the mission is, that there’s these incredibly familiar pieces that have not had the opportunity to be platformed in this manner, to be placed like this, to be curated in this way, for people to really see the genius behind it," museum CEO Tracey Bates said.
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"Star Wars in Motion," the museum’s opening exhibit, will feature production versions of Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder, speeder bikes from "Return of the Jedi" and a yellow Naboo N-1 Starfighter from "The Phantom Menace." However, Bates said "'Star Wars' only occupies 7% of the museum, actually."
Why you should care:
The 100,000-square-foot museum will also feature galleries dedicated to Rockwell, Parrish, sports, civic activism, comics, science fiction, anime and children’s art.
Lucas said the project, which was conceived 17 years ago, nearly broke him after proposed locations in San Francisco and Chicago fell through.
"I’m used to doing the impossible," he said. "This one almost broke me."
The Source: The Associated Press contributed to this report. The information in this story came from an Associated Press report based on a preview of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles and interviews with museum CEO Tracey Bates, senior curator Ryan Linkof and architect Ma Yansong. This story was reported from Los Angeles.