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George Lucas Returns to Earth, Bearing Gifts

09.07.2026
By Sam Hall Kaplan

Appearing like a grounded and formidable spaceship, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, bearing gifts of memories and myths, opened its portals to an Earth-bound selection of people (local notables, friends, museum members, and journalists) last week in a welcoming Los Angeles, christened by its benefactors, George Lucas, the producer and director of Star Wars fame and fortune, and his financier wife, Mellody Hobson. (The general public opening will be on September 22.)
The architecture of the galactic conceit, with a reported $1 billion price tag, is most definitely different, almost stunningly so: a sculptural, organic form, described as a “cloud” by Ma Yansong, founder of MAD Architects, the principal firm in a design team that also included Michael Siegel of Stantec and Mia Lehrer of the heralded local landscape firm of Studio-MLA.
Moored in the city’s Exposition Park on a deftly landscaped 13-acre campus that had previously been a parking lot, the soaring sweep of the five-story museum may look to some like a makeshift sci-fi construct, but its interior is grounded in a familiar labyrinth of accessible galleries and convenient visitor services.
Lucas hesitantly declared at the media preview that the museum, long in planning, “was created to honor humanity’s stories and the artists who illustrate them” and, in doing so, “connect our modern imaginations with our ancient emotions, creating community.” The diversity of the roughly 1,300 objects on display—housed in 33 galleries totalling 100,000 square feet—is impressive. It ranges from prehistoric cave paintings, ancient sculptures of gods and goddesses, and Renaissance paintings to screen art, rare vintage illustrations, and photographs. The collection also includes graphic novels and comics, which the museum notes “have not always received the respect they deserve.” Lucas calls them “the people’s art.” 
The museum library.
 
Several exhibits exploring the Skywalker saga should appeal to the young and young-at-heart Star Wars fans, weaned as they were through (for now) a dozen feature films. The films, in turn, have generated a seemingly endless Hollywood galaxy of action figures and toys, TV shows and cartoons, books and video games, clothing, and other themed merchandise far too numerous to mention. (The collective lifetime revenue of Stars Wars is estimated to be around $50 billion.) According to the museum, all of these products are “heavily inspired by archetypes and motifs from classical mythology, religion, political history, and the ‘hero’s journey.’”
Among the exhibits is a selection of vehicle designs, props, costumes, and illustrations from the first six films in the saga that Lucas had, over time, squirreled away for his personal archives. But the museum does way more than commemorate Star Wars movies, as some haughty east coast cultural commentators have alluded to in early critiques, out of apparent intellectual and geographic hubris. In contrast, as a longtime fan of comics and cartoons, considerably before being awestruck and enthralled by the masterpieces of art and architecture, I sensed in the engaging exhibits a welcoming curatorial curiosity and refreshing respect for film fans.
The building has two movie theatres.
 
Indeed, the cinema’s supremacy for telling stories with moving images on a screen is displayed in two theaters on the ground level, off the main lobby, named in honor of Robert Flaherty, an acclaimed early documentarian, and Slavko Vorkapich, who pioneered special effects and experimental films in the analog heyday of Hollywood, before CGI took over. Not coincidentally, he briefly was also the chair of the famed USC Department of Film, which Lucas attended. To entice, the theaters will each operate free to museumgoers as open-door venues, screening curated films continuously. 
The galleries also include a wealth of still photography by luminaries such as Robert Capra, Gordon Parks, Alfred Eisenstaedt, and Dorothea Lange; illustrations by Maxwell Parrish, Norman Rockwell, Andrew and N.C. Wyeth, Frank Frazetta; paintings and murals by Diego Rivera, Judith Baca, and Thomas Hart Benton; and rare comic books illustrated by a bevy of artists: Mœbius, Marie Severin, Jack Kirby, Alison Bechdel, Jim Lee, Frank Miller, Rafael Navarro, and R. Crumb.
Eclectic as the galleries may be, the design of the public areas are blandly functional, and the circulation thankfully fluid, even to this mobility-challenged critic—though more seating, as always, would be appreciated. But there is little question that the museum itself is a good fit for Los Angeles, however bruised it is as the entertainment capital of the world. Certainly the museum feels more at home here than it would have been in Chicago, where it was initially to be located until Lucas failed to get the site he wanted on the lakefront. (He was similarly thwarted in San Francisco, when civic leaders balked at putting the museum in the Presidio.) 
Embracing the museum is a diverting people-oriented landscape design that, in addition to the indigenous and drought-tolerant plantings, contains spaces and places for varied public use: a fountain and a surprise waterfall as focal points to meet up with friends and family, a meadow on which to picnic or throw a frisbee, or meandering paths on which to stroll.
From every perspective, the design of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art clearly dominates and distinguishes the park and surrounding area. It was a fun tour for me, which I acknowledge with a tip of my magician’s hat and the confidence that the museum will soon become a landmark, an architectural must-see, and a tourist attraction, as well as a point of pride for a city long renowned for narrative art. 
Featured image: The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, designed by MAD Architects, via the museum.

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architectureGeorge LucasLucas Museum of Narrative ArtMAD ArchitectsStar Wars

Author Bio
Sam Hall Kaplan is an Emmy-award winning broadcast commentator. He was the longtime architecture critic of the Los Angeles Times; he’s authored many books, including the recent An Urban Odyssey: A Critic’s Search for the Soul of Cities and Self (Academic Studies Press/Cherry Orchard Books).

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The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, established by benefactors George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, opened its doors in Los Angeles as a structure embodying a galactic conceit with a reported price tag of one billion dollars. The architecture itself is described as sculptural and organic, likened to a cloud by Ma Yansong, founder of MAD Architects, who was involved in the design team. The museum is situated on a thirteen-acre campus in Exposition Park, transforming a previously used parking lot into a thoughtfully landscaped environment.

The museum’s mission, as articulated by Lucas, is to honor humanity’s stories and the artists who illustrate them, aiming to connect modern imaginations with ancient emotions to foster community. The facility houses approximately one thousand three hundred objects across thirty-three galleries, occupying one hundred thousand square feet, which offers a diverse collection ranging from prehistoric cave paintings and ancient sculptures to Renaissance paintings, screen art, vintage illustrations, photographs, graphic novels, and comics, which Lucas terms the people's art.

A significant portion of the exhibits focuses on the Skywalker saga, appealing especially to younger audiences, and incorporates designs, props, costumes, and illustrations from the first six films. This material is noted to be heavily inspired by archetypes and motifs drawn from classical mythology, religion, political history, and the hero’s journey. The collection also displays cinematic history through two theaters honoring Robert Flaherty and Slavko Vorkapich, who were pioneers in early special effects and film departments, offering free, continuous screenings.

The artistic depth of the museum is further demonstrated by the inclusion of works by renowned figures, featuring still photography from luminaries such as Robert Capra and Dorothea Lange, illustrations by Norman Rockwell and Diego Rivera, and comic book art by artists like Jack Kirby and Frank Miller. While the gallery design is intentionally blandly functional, the public areas emphasize fluid circulation and landscape design, incorporating indigenous and drought-tolerant plantings, fountains, meadows, and meandering paths to encourage public interaction.

The physical location itself is deemed a successful integration into the Los Angeles landscape, feeling more appropriate there than in other cities where site acquisition proved challenging for the museum. The overall design successfully dominates and distinguishes the surrounding park, offering a diverting, people-oriented space that functions as both an architectural landmark and a cultural focal point.