After years of planning, anticipation, gear-switching and reboots, the mammoth spaceship known as the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has finally landed in La La Land. And this place that feels like it belongs in a galaxy far, far away — a testament to storytelling and the limitless landscape of art — is now nestled into its own greenery in Angelenos’ backyard.
The glass doors to the cloud-like building opened wide on Tuesday, Sept. 22, as the first visitors entered – many donning their Star Wars merch – they were greeted with a surprise. Stretching out their hands were co-founders George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, personally welcoming guests to this long-awaited universe.
San Diego resident Jeff Heine was one of the 100 visitors who got to greet the co-founders as he entered the museum. For the 64-year-old, a longtime fan of the director, meeting Star Wars patriarch Lucas was jaw-dropping.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art celebrates it’s grand opening in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. Star Wars Droid C-3CPO on display. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Mariam Youssef attends the grand opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Visitors are welcomed to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art celebrates it’s grand opening in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. On display is the stunt costume for Batman from ‘The dark Night.’ (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
CEO Tracey Bates is interviewed during the grand opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art celebrates it’s grand opening in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. Star Wars Droid C-3CPO on display. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
“It’s just a surprise and delight of what’s here,” Heine said as he stood in the Norman Rockwell gallery on the fourth floor. “I’ve been a fan of Lucas pretty much all my life, and just his take on illustrators as legitimate art and that everything we’re seeing here has a legitimate place in the art world.”
And why wouldn’t the museum’s papa be there for its birthday? “I’ve spent more than fifty years collecting the work of artists who don’t always get their due — illustrators, cartoonists, muralists, painters —because I believe their images are as vital as any other art form,” Lucas said. “They deserve to be in a museum.”
The museum welcomed a sold-out crowd to its galleries, park and gardens, and its landmark building, the latest high-profile addition to Exposition Park on Tuesday. (Not far away, the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center — the new tower for the Space Shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center — finished construction in April and is scheduled to open Nov. 13).
Roaming around the main plaza was movie droid R2-D2 — buzzing and beeping as only he can — as people stopped to take pictures and admire the central elliptical oculus hovering above, opening a view to the sky.
The museum’s public debut follows an opening-night celebration Saturday hosted by Lucas and Hobson that gave invited guests, including artists, filmmakers and philanthropists, an early look at the museum.
Among those attending were Oprah Winfrey and actor Mark Hamill, who portrayed Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” films. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also attended, calling Los Angeles the “storytelling capital of the world.”
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is the first institution dedicated to the tradition of visual storytelling, museum officials said, tracing its history across cultures and centuries, from prehistoric cave paintings to illustration, comics, cinema and murals.
“It’s such a monumental moment, it’s been really emotional,” Lucas Museum CEO Tracey Bates said during an interview. “Everybody’s worked so hard on this, but no one harder than George Lucas and Mellody Hobson.”
The museum has been decades in the making, Bates said. In 2014, Lucas and Hobson initiated an international competition for the design of a new museum of narrative art, which was to be located in Chicago. But because of disagreements over the use of the site, in 2015, the museum was moved to California. In 2016. Los Angeles was selected as the museum’s future home – near Lucas’ alma mater of USC.
Before opening to the public, Lucas and Hobson were joined by more than 100 students from USC, the Los Angeles Technology Center, Otis College of Art and Design, and Los Angeles City College, having surprised them with free tickets to attend the opening day.
“I’ve spent more than 50 years collecting the work of artists who don’t always get their due – illustrators, cartoonists, muralists, painters – because I believe their images are as vital as any other art form,” Lucas said. “They deserve to be in a museum.”
From left, Rhonda Tankerson welcomes Anna Kling to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
From left, George Lucas and Mellody Hobson greet the first visitors of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art celebrates it’s grand opening in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. A man holds a Lucas Museum pin badge.(Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
A view from the ground looking up through the museum. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art celebrates it’s grand opening in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Visitors view a Star Wars exhibit. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art celebrates it’s grand opening in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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From left, Rhonda Tankerson welcomes Anna Kling to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
With more than 30 galleries in 100,000 square feet of exhibition space, Hobson said that the museum displays are those that reflect the everyday person’s life and experience.
“This is a museum of the ‘people’s are’ – the images are illustrations of the beliefs we live with every day, and for that reason, this art belongs to everyone,” Hobson said. “From the beginning, George and I have wanted this to be a place where visitors of every background can walk through our galleries and see themselves, and their humanity, reflected back. Today, that vision opens its doors.”
For the students listening to the co-founders, many said that the museum showed the importance of art and storytelling. As a first-year film student at USC, Luca Torrens said being able to see all the props and costumes in the “Star Wars in Motion” exhibition is incredible to see how creative human beings can be and is inspiring for what the future of film can be.
“It is really incredible to see all these forms of art being displayed,” Torrens said about the museum. “I mean, there’s a whole manga section and people may not even think about that as art, but it’s incredible.”
The inaugural exhibitions trace the history of narrative art, beginning with a first-floor exhibition exploring heroes, myths and sacred imagery across thousands of years, according to the museum.
Other galleries focus on themes including love, family and community, as well as fantasy, romance and adventure. Galleries dedicated to various forms of storytelling feature comic books, manga, graphic novels, photography and murals.
The museum also displays reproductions of works and sites that cannot be moved, including the Sistine Chapel ceiling, ancient cave paintings from Altamira in Spain and the Aztec Sun Stone.
While the “Star Wars in Motion” exhibition was very popular, visitors also took their time exploring the works for artists such as Norman Rockwell, Frida Kahlo, Robert Colescott, Frank Frazetta, and many more.
From left, George Lucas and Mellody Hobson speak during the grand opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Jorge Villarreal admires Norman Rockwell’s “The Problem We All Live With” on display at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
From left, Vincent Eriquez and Jessica Rivera take in the view from the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
From left, George Lucas and Mellody Hobson pose for photographs during the grand opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Visitors view a Star Wars exhibit. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art celebrates it’s grand opening in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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From left, George Lucas and Mellody Hobson speak during the grand opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
“The different artwork, different photography is not what we were expecting – it’s more,” said Yadira Vasquez, 52, from Bakersfield. “We’re big fans of George Lucas and we made an effort to get in the queue as soon as they released tickets to be here the first day and to be able to walk in and actually meet him and his wife was amazing.”
People of all ages – and from across the country – made their way through the halls of the museum on the first day.
Siblings Mya Parker, 14, and Owen Parker, 10, traveled with their parents from Oklahoma to be some of the first visitors on the first day of the Lucas Museum. Their favorite experience so far that morning was meeting Lucas and seeing the “Star Wars in Motion” exhibit.
“I like that they have the costumes and they recreated the people and different scenes, and they had the art behind the spaceships,” Mya Parker said.
Her younger brother agreed.
“I like the spaceships and how much detail there is on it,” Owen Parker said. “You can see the wires and see the miniatures contrasting the life-size things.”
Beyond the galleries, visitors explored the park and gardens that featured 10 monumental outdoor sculptures of narrative art; a film program with continuous drop-in screenings in the Robert Flaherty Theater and Slavko Vorkapich Theater; browsed books in the free public research library; and shopped merchandise related to visual storytelling, inspired by highlights of the museum’s collection, designed and produced exclusively for the store.
The museum is surrounded by 11 acres of park and gardens designed by landscape architect Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA. The grounds include 10 monumental outdoor sculptures.
The museum also features two 299-seat theaters offering continuous film programs, educational and public programming spaces, a retail store, a research library that is free to the public and Skywalker Grill, a full-service restaurant.
Part of the sculpture garden at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. The 300,000 sq. ft. museum in Exposition Park designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec includes a new 13-acre campus garden. The institution is the first museum dedicated to the human tradition of visual storytelling. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A view of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art from the sculpture garden on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. The 300,000 sq. ft. museum in Exposition Park designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec includes a new 13-acre campus garden. The institution is the first museum dedicated to the human tradition of visual storytelling. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A costume from the movie Earth versus the Flying Saucers at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. The 300,000 sq. ft. museum in Exposition Park designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec includes a new 13-acre campus garden. The institution is the first museum dedicated to the human tradition of visual storytelling. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)g
Star Wars gallery in the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. The 300,000 sq. ft. museum in Exposition Park designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec includes a new 13-acre campus garden. The institution is the first museum dedicated to the human tradition of visual storytelling. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Star Wars gallery in the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. The 300,000 sq. ft. museum in Exposition Park designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec includes a new 13-acre campus garden. The institution is the first museum dedicated to the human tradition of visual storytelling. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Science fiction art at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. The 300,000 sq. ft. museum in Exposition Park designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec includes a new 13-acre campus garden. The institution is the first museum dedicated to the human tradition of visual storytelling. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A reproduction of the interior view of the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey at the Lucas Museum on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. The 300,000 sq. ft. museum in Exposition Park designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec includes a new 13-acre campus garden. The institution is the first museum dedicated to the human tradition of visual storytelling. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)g
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, hosted a media preview for the opening of its new 300,000 sq. ft. museum in Exposition Park, Los Angeles on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Part of the sculpture garden at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. The 300,000 sq. ft. museum in Exposition Park designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec includes a new 13-acre campus garden. The institution is the first museum dedicated to the human tradition of visual storytelling. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The museum’s cinema collection includes the complete Lucas Archives from 1971 to 2012. An inaugural exhibition titled “Star Wars in Motion” features concept designs, props and costumes associated with vehicles from the first six “Star Wars” films, including Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder and the first physical build of General Grievous’ Wheel Bike.
The research library includes more than 30,000 comic books, select holdings from the Skywalker Ranch Library, about 3,000 art books donated by Steve Martin and his wife, Ann Martin, and more than 2,900 volumes from the personal library of writer and mythologist Joseph Campbell, whose work influenced Lucas’ creation of “Star Wars,” museum officials said.
The building was designed by Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec.
“The opportunity to design an institution dedicated to the art of visual storytelling was an enormous privilege, especially as MAD’s first cultural project in the US,” Yansong said. “The design of the Lucas Museum is a metaphor for storytelling and imagination — a space to explore new possibilities. My goal was to create a building that invites curiosity and brings visitors on an emotional journey.”
Through it all, museum officials hope that visitors leave even more curious about narrative art than when they first arrive.
“We want them to discover new artists as well as engage with artists they may know on a deeper level,” Bates said. “We really want them to see themselves on the walls of the galleries and find a place. There’s so much to see and do here and we just hope people will come and join us.”
The Lucas Museum will now be open to the public six days a week, it will be closed on Tuesdays. The library opens at 10 a.m. and is shut one hour before the museum closes, and the parks and gardens will be open at 8 a.m. and close at sunset for community use.
Museum admission is $25 for adults and $21 for seniors age 65 and over. Admission is free for children 17 and under, members, active-duty military, and LM37 passholders – current residents of the 90037 ZIP code. To learn more about the museum and to purchase tickets, visit lucasmuseum.org.
City News Service contributed to this report