George Lucas Presents ‘Temple to the People’s Art’ at Comic-Con 2025

July 28, 2025 – 16:30 PDT

George Lucas made a rare public appearance at San Diego Comic-Con, revealing new details about the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, set to open in Los Angeles next year. During an engaging panel, the “Star Wars” creator emphasized the museum’s mission to celebrate comic art, film, and storytelling as essential cultural forms.

Backed by contributions from notable figures like Guillermo del Toro and Queen Latifah, the conversation offered attendees a thoughtful look into how the museum will preserve and elevate popular art across generations.

George Lucas makes first Comic-Con appearance

At 81 years old, George Lucas took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H for the first time on Sunday. Greeted by thousands of fans waving lightsabers and cheering to the iconic Star Wars theme, Lucas appeared humble in jeans and a flannel shirt. His discussion stood in stark contrast to the typical high-energy movie and superhero promotions seen at Comic-Con.

Instead, Lucas focused on a quieter but deeply personal subject: the upcoming Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, co-founded with his wife, businesswoman and philanthropist Mellody Hobson.

“This is sort of a temple to the people’s art,” Lucas told the crowd.

A museum decades in the making

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has been in development since 2017. Now under construction in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, the massive 300,000-square-foot structure resembles a futuristic spacecraft. Designed by Chinese architect Ma Yansong, the museum is scheduled to open in 2026.

Located near the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the University of Southern California (Lucas’s alma mater), the 11-acre campus aims to become a cultural landmark, bridging the worlds of classical art and modern storytelling.

Inside the collection: comics, cinema, and cultural icons

While Star Wars artifacts will certainly be featured, Lucas emphasized that the museum’s scope goes far beyond his own cinematic legacy. His extensive collection includes:

• Original Flash Gordon illustrations
• Comic panels from Peanuts, with handwritten notes by Charles Schulz
• Early artwork of Iron Man and Black Panther
• Political cartoons and underground comics
• Paintings by American masters like Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish
• Works by Black artists such as Norman Lewis and Kara Walker, curated by Hobson

Lucas first began collecting narrative art in the 1960s while still in college, surprised at how accessible it was at the time.

“I could get an Alley-Oop [comic] for $30,” he recalled. “I’ve been collecting narrative art ever since.”

Panel guests highlight the museum’s cultural importance

Joining Lucas on stage were director Guillermo del Toro and veteran Star Wars production designer Doug Chiang. Del Toro, known for his passion for collecting pop culture relics, emphasized the museum’s value not just as an archive, but as a political and historical institution.

“Comics were the first ones to punch Nazis—before movies,” Del Toro said.

He also noted that the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year came dangerously close to his personal collection. Some of his items, he revealed, may eventually find a permanent home at the Lucas Museum.

Queen Latifah moderated the discussion, bringing humor and energy to the panel. A self-proclaimed “sci-fi nerd,” she urged the crowd to get excited about the museum.

“Are y’all pumped up for this museum now or what?” she exclaimed.

A vision rooted in accessibility and preservation

Unlike traditional fine art museums, the Lucas Museum is built on the idea that comics, illustration, animation, and cinema deserve the same recognition as oil paintings or sculptures. The museum’s mission is to validate and preserve forms of art that have shaped popular consciousness but often lack institutional representation.

Lucas was firm in his commitment to preserving the collection.

“What am I going to do with it all?” he asked rhetorically. “I refuse to sell it. I could never do that.”

His statement highlights a core reason behind the museum’s creation: ensuring future generations can access and study these cultural works in an academic and public setting.

Not just for Star Wars fans

While Lucas remains a towering figure in film history, he hasn’t personally directed a movie since 2005’s Revenge of the Sith. In 2012, he sold Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise to The Walt Disney Company. Since then, he has largely stayed out of the spotlight.

Yet his influence is still widely felt at Comic-Con, where his ideas and aesthetics have shaped everything from indie graphic novels to Hollywood blockbusters.

The museum offers a new way for fans—old and new—to engage with Lucas’s legacy beyond the Star Wars universe.

Awaiting the opening

The exact opening date for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has not been announced, though construction is progressing steadily. Once open, it promises to offer a rare and inclusive space where the history of visual storytelling—from political cartoons to sci-fi films—can be explored and appreciated.

Until then, fans can look forward to a new kind of cultural institution: one that blends pop culture with high art, memory with meaning, and fandom with education.