The 82-year-old Lucas has a love of doing things that are supposed to be impossible. The project was first conceived for San Franciso and Chicago and reached the initial design phase in both cities before Lucas was \u201ckicked out,\u201d as he put it. The Los Angeles museum mixes the work of populist painters, commercial illustrators and comic artists with the kind of fine artists more associated with major museums.<\/p>\n
Here’s a look at five things to make sure to see on a visit.<\/p>\n
Slay, princess<\/p>\n
In the considerable green space that surrounds the museum, visitors will see statuary that includes a sculpture of Carrie Fisher’s<\/a> Princess Leia in her metal bikini choking Jabba the Hutt to death, a scene from 1983\u2019s \u201cReturn of the Jedi.\u201d<\/p>\n Titled \u201cThe Hutt Slayer\u201d and commissioned for the space, it’s one of a handful of inevitable nods to \u201cStar Wars\u201d in and around the museum, but that faraway galaxy represents just a small fraction of its holdings and initial exhibits.<\/p>\n The inaugural \u201cStar Wars in Motion\u201d exhibit shows vehicles used in the original trilogy and the Lucas-directed prequels. A Naboo starfighter hangs in a more permanent spot in the lobby of its library. A stroll on the paths through the grass will also bring views of statues of Yoda<\/a>, Grogu<\/a>, and Natalie Portman’s Padm\u00e9 Amidala.<\/p>\n Banksy, high above the street<\/p>\n The museum is full of paintings from artists like Norman Rockwell who have long been considered the opposite of cool. But it has no lack of younger, hipper content.<\/p>\n In a not-easy-to-find fifth-floor gallery are two walls of stenciled murals from the elusive and apparently recently \u201cunmasked\u201d<\/a> British street artist Banksy<\/a>, who worked personally with Lucas on his contributions to the institution.<\/p>\n The work, whose presence was announced in the final weeks before the museum’s opening, includes the familiar image of a girl releasing a heart-shaped balloon.<\/p>\n Nearby are activist murals from artists including Judith Baca and Diego Rivera.<\/p>\n Don’t forget to look up at the oculus<\/p>\n Architect Ma Yansong’s big, billowing building almost seems to hover around and envelop the surrounding structures, including the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.<\/p>\n He has likened it to a cloud, and perhaps its signature spot is an opening in that cloud, an oculus in the center of the dome above the main plaza that looks almost celestial.<\/p>\n Ma told The Associated Press the spot is \u201calmost like a spiritual space.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think architecture is a narrative, is storytelling,\u201d he said. \u201cThe plaza, the oculus, the roof, different atmospheres that we provided, I think it’s very important that the building become an emotional space for people.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tAP Photo\/Chris PizzelloAP Photo\/Chris Pizzello<\/p>\n An oculus is featured between two courtyard entrances to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art during a preview of the museum on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n A rare but familiar Frida Kahlo self-portrait<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/AP26244650432456.jpg\")
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