The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson, will officially open to the public on September 22, 2026. The announcement marks the end of years of false starts and multiple postponements for the ambitious cultural institution dedicated to celebrating illustrated storytelling.

"This is a museum of the people's art. The images are illustrations of beliefs we live with every day," Hobson stated in announcing the opening date. "For that reason, this art belongs to everyone." The museum represents Lucas's vision that stories serve as mythology, and when illustrated, they help humans understand the mysteries of life.

Located in Los Angeles's Exposition Park, the striking building will feature 35 galleries spanning 100,000 square feet. The galleries will be thoughtfully named to reflect universal human experiences, including love, family, community, play, work, and sports. This thematic approach underscores the museum's mission to showcase narrative art that resonates with people from all walks of life.

The Lucas Museum will house a permanent collection of more than 40,000 works, representing one of the most significant collections of narrative art in the world. The diverse collection will showcase works by renowned artists including Norman Rockwell, Kadir Nelson, Jessie Willcox Smith, N.C. Wyeth, Beatrix Potter, Judy Baca, Frida Kahlo, and Maxfield Parrish. Comic art legends will also be prominently featured, with works by Winsor McCay, Jack Kirby, Frank Frazetta, Alison Bechdel, Chris Ware, and R. Crumb on display.

Photography will play an important role in the museum's narrative storytelling mission, with works by masters Gordon Parks, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Dorothea Lange included in the collection. Additionally, the museum will house the Lucas Archives, which will contain an extensive collection of models, props, concept art, and costumes from Lucas's legendary filmmaking career.

Wednesday's announcement revealed several specific works that will be featured in the museum's displays. Notable pieces include Frank Frazetta's iconic cover for "A Princess of Mars" from 1970, Norman Rockwell's cover for The Saturday Evening Post titled "Age of Romance," and an unpublished Beatrix Potter drawing called "Mouse with a spinning wheel" from 1890. Other highlighted works include N.C. Wyeth's illustration "The Duel on the Beach" for Ladies Home Journal from 1926 and Ernie Barnes's "The Critics Corner" from 2007.

Lucas and the museum team have been actively promoting the institution through high-profile appearances at major conventions. In July, Lucas made his first-ever appearance at San Diego International Comic-Con, participating in a panel alongside filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, Star Wars production designer Doug Chiang, and moderator Queen Latifah. The museum continued its outreach efforts in October with a presence at New York Comic Con, featuring a panel moderated by acclaimed director Martin Scorsese with guests Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell, both celebrated for their fantasy paintings and movie posters.

The journey to create this museum has been lengthy and challenging, with a reported cost of $1 billion and more than a decade of development. The founders initially pursued locations in San Francisco and Chicago, but public and political complications in both cities proved to be significant obstacles. After selecting Los Angeles as the final location in 2017, construction began in 2018 with an original target opening date of 2021.

However, the museum faced a series of setbacks that repeatedly pushed back the opening timeline. The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant delays, compounded by various construction issues that further complicated the project. The opening date was subsequently moved from 2021 to 2023, then to 2025, and finally to the current target of September 2026. Despite these challenges, the museum team remains committed to creating a world-class institution that will celebrate the art of visual storytelling for generations to come.