George Lucas’s $1 billion museum opens to the public Tuesday

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art held its opening gala this weekend. Star Wars is one exhibit among van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, Norman Rockwell and Charles Schulz.

George Lucas spent $1 billion building a museum in Los Angeles, and Star Wars is only one part of it.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens to the public on Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Exposition Park. It celebrated with an opening-night gala this weekend, with guests including Oprah Winfrey, Mark Hamill and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

What is inside the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art?

A lot more than lightsabers.

The opening exhibitions hold more than 1,300 works by artists including Vincent van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, Norman Rockwell, Charles Schulz and Robert Crumb. The museum’s idea is that storytelling in pictures is one tradition, so a Rockwell magazine cover, a Peanuts strip and a van Gogh can all hang in the same building.

It also holds the complete Lucas Archives, covering 1971 through 2012.

Is there Star Wars at the Lucas Museum?

Yes. “Star Wars in Motion” is an exhibition of concept designs, props and costumes from the films.

It’s one of more than 30 galleries, which is the point. Lucas could have built a Star Wars museum and filled it for decades. He built an art museum with a Star Wars wing instead.

The museum is also where the long-shelved animated comedy “Star Wars Detours” is finally being screened, more than a decade after Disney put it away.

How big is the Lucas Museum?

Five stories, 300,000 square feet, with more than 100,000 square feet of exhibition space.

The building has been under construction for years, and its curved, futuristic shape has already become a landmark in Exposition Park, next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Natural History Museum.

Who founded the Lucas Museum?

George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, his wife and co-founder.

Hobson said at the opening that they approached it without a museum background. “We didn’t work at a museum, we don’t have PhDs,” she said, adding that “some rules are broken.”

She described Lucas taking out a blank sheet of paper and designing it the way he wanted, which is more or less how he made Star Wars too.

Do you need tickets for the Lucas Museum?

Yes. Advance timed-entry tickets are required, and they’re sold through the museum’s own site. Ticket prices weren’t listed at the time of writing.

The regular schedule is worth knowing before you plan a trip. The museum is closed on Tuesdays outside of opening day. It’s open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Last entry is 45 minutes before closing.

Why does the Lucas Museum matter?

Because of what Lucas decided to put in it.

He has one of the largest private collections of illustration and popular art in the country, and he spent years trying to build a home for it. San Francisco and Chicago both fell through before Los Angeles worked out.

Illustration and comic art have spent most of the last century being treated as less serious than fine art. Putting Charles Schulz and Robert Crumb in the same building as van Gogh is an argument about that, and Lucas made it with a billion dollars.

Opening week will be busy, so anyone planning a visit should book the timed tickets well ahead.

Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.

Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Hat Tips:

• Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (accessed Sept. 20, 2026), the Sept. 22 public opening, timed-entry requirement and operating hours

• ABC7 Los Angeles (Sept. 20, 2026), the opening gala, attendees, building specifications, collection details and Mellody Hobson’s comments

• Deadline and TMZ (Sept. 20, 2026), coverage of the opening-night event

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