LOS ANGELES, Sept. 22, 2026: George Lucas’ long-awaited Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is opening to the public Tuesday in Los Angeles, bringing together Hollywood history, fine art, comics, illustration and popular culture under one massive roof.

The museum, located in Exposition Park near the University of Southern California, has been nearly two decades in the making. Lucas and his wife and co-founder, Mellody Hobson, have built the institution around their personal collections and a broader idea of how visual storytelling shapes American culture.

The public opening follows a star-studded opening celebration held over the weekend, where Hollywood names, artists and entertainment figures gathered to get an early look at the new Los Angeles landmark.

A New Los Angeles Destination for Storytelling

The Lucas Museum is not designed as a traditional art museum focused only on paintings hanging in quiet galleries.

Instead, its collection explores the many ways stories have been told through images, including paintings, movie artwork, comic books, illustrations, photography, murals and other forms of visual storytelling.

The museum features more than 30 galleries covering subjects ranging from mythology and adventure to family, love and popular culture.

That approach gives visitors a mix that can move from classic artwork to familiar pieces of pop culture without treating them as completely separate worlds.

Star Wars Gets a Major Spotlight

For fans of Lucas’ most famous creation, the museum naturally has plenty of Star Wars history.

Visitors can see pieces connected to the franchise, including Star Wars characters and vehicles. One of the featured attractions is a Naboo starfighter displayed inside the museum’s library, while another exhibition explores the development of the Star Wars universe through artwork and visual storytelling.

The museum also includes work connected to other major artists and cultural figures, making it much broader than a Star Wars attraction.

A $1 Billion Museum Takes Shape

The museum represents a major investment in Los Angeles’ cultural landscape.

The approximately 300,000-square-foot building was designed by architect Ma Yansong of MAD Architects, working with Stantec. Its unusual, futuristic exterior gives the building a distinctive look that stands out from the surrounding Exposition Park landscape.

The museum sits within a new 13-acre park designed as part of the larger campus. The grounds add outdoor space around the futuristic structure and create another public destination for visitors in the area.

Beyond Hollywood and Star Wars

Although Lucas’ name and the Star Wars connection are likely to draw plenty of attention, the museum’s collection goes well beyond movies.

Among the works on display is a rare 1940 self-portrait by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The collection also includes works connected to artists such as Diego Rivera, along with comic art, commercial illustration and other forms of popular visual culture.

That mix is central to the museum’s identity. Rather than separating popular entertainment from fine art, the institution puts them side by side as different ways of telling stories.

Hollywood Turns Out for the Opening

The museum’s opening has already attracted major attention from Hollywood.

George Lucas and Mellody Hobson hosted an opening-night celebration on Sept. 19, ahead of the public debut. Celebrities and entertainment figures attended the event, giving the museum an early dose of Hollywood spotlight before regular visitors could walk through its doors.

The opening also gives Los Angeles another major entertainment and cultural destination at a time when the city continues to expand its identity beyond traditional movie-industry attractions.

The Museum Opens to the Public

After years of planning, construction and changes to the project’s location, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is now ready for the public.

For Los Angeles visitors, the museum offers something different from a standard movie attraction or traditional art museum. Its galleries bring together recognizable pop-culture characters, historic artwork, comics, movie imagery and other forms of visual storytelling in one place.

For Lucas, the opening marks the realization of a project that has been part of his life for years. For Los Angeles, it adds a major new cultural destination to Exposition Park.