George Lucas Is Opening a $1 Billion Museum in Los Angeles

On September 22, 2026, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will open in Los Angeles. The museum was created by George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson. This will not be a traditional film museum or a space devoted only to Star Wars. The new cultural center will bring together paintings, illustrations, comics, photography, cinema, and other forms of art that can tell powerful stories without many words.

People have been waiting for this opening for years. Construction in Los Angeles began in 2018, and the total cost of the project is estimated at about $1 billion. Before settling on Los Angeles, Lucas tried to build the museum in other cities but faced legal and administrative obstacles. In the end, his collection found a home in a city that is almost impossible to imagine without movies and visual storytelling.

The scale of the building is impressive even by California standards. It covers about 300,000 square feet, or roughly 28,000 square meters. Inside, visitors will find more than 30 galleries, two modern theaters, a research library, educational spaces, a cafe, a store, and the Skywalker Grill restaurant with panoramic views of the city. The exhibition galleries alone cover about 100,000 square feet.

Architect Ma Yansong and his team at MAD Architects designed a building with almost no conventional straight lines. The structure rises above the ground, creating a large shaded public plaza underneath. A central opening will allow visitors to look up at the sky. According to the architect, the building is meant to resemble both a spacecraft and the broad canopy of a tree protecting people from the California sun.

The museum has more than 40,000 works in its permanent collection. George Lucas and Mellody Hobson spent decades building it. The collection includes paintings, illustrations, photographs, comics, manga, book art, posters, sculptures, murals, and materials from the world of cinema. Works connected to Vincent van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Norman Rockwell, Banksy, Charles Schulz, and influential comic artists may appear within the same museum.

That unexpected combination is central to the museum's mission. Lucas believes art should not be divided too rigidly into elite culture and popular culture. A famous painting, a newspaper comic, a children's book illustration, and a cinematic concept drawing can all perform the same essential task. They tell stories and shape the way we understand heroes, family, love, fear, adventure, and justice.

The opening exhibitions will feature about 1,300 objects. The galleries will not be organized only by time period or artist. Visitors will also enter spaces devoted to family, childhood, community, work, sports, adventure, and other parts of human life. This approach is designed for more than art experts. The founders want people to walk into a gallery without special preparation and still find a story that feels personal and familiar.

Star Wars fans will have a special reason to visit. A separate exhibition called Star Wars in Motion will focus on land vehicles seen in the first six films of the saga. Visitors will see concept drawings, costumes, and props connected to racing machines, massive transports, and imaginative vehicles.

The announced objects include Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder from A New Hope and the first physical model of General Grievous's Wheel Bike from Revenge of the Sith. For fans, this is a chance to see more than digital copies or souvenir versions. These objects and designs helped build a cinematic universe recognized around the world. They also reveal how the ideas of artists, engineers, and designers slowly became unforgettable scenes on screen.

George Lucas has emphasized that this is not simply a Star Wars museum. The saga has an important place here, but it is only one part of a much larger story. The exhibitions follow the development of visual storytelling from ancient images and classical painting to photography, comics, animation, and modern cinema.

The museum's two theaters will continuously screen documentaries, experimental films, animation, and early student work by Lucas. The programs will explore the art of storytelling and show how motion, light, sound, color, and editing create emotion.

The research library deserves special attention. Its holdings include rare books, archival materials, about 30,000 comic books, selections from the former Lucasfilm library, and more than 2,900 books from the personal collection of writer and mythology scholar Joseph Campbell. His idea of the hero's journey strongly influenced the creation of Star Wars. Admission to the library will be free for everyone, making it more than an addition to the museum. It will be a resource for students, researchers, artists, filmmakers, and movie fans.

A new 13 acre park and gardens surround the building. Much of this land was once covered by an asphalt parking lot. Now the grounds include more than 300 newly planted trees, a meadow, an amphitheater, a hanging garden, walking paths, and a large fountain. The landscaping uses plants chosen for their ability to handle dry conditions.

Ten large sculptures will be placed throughout the park. Some feature Yoda and Grogu, Princess Leia, and Padme. Visitors will be able to walk through the grounds and enjoy the gardens for free. The project is therefore bringing more than a museum to South Los Angeles. It is also creating a major public space for walks, meetings, learning, and family time.

General admission will cost $25 for adults and $21 for visitors age 65 and older. Children and teenagers age 17 and younger will be admitted free. Residents of the 90037 ZIP code will also be able to register for a free annual pass. With dozens of schools nearby, this policy could make the museum and its art much more accessible to local families.

The museum is located at One Lucas Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90037, in Exposition Park.

It will be closed on Tuesdays and will remain open until 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Tickets and current visitor information are available at https://lucasmuseum.org/plan-your-visit