Star Wars creator George Lucas brings the force to Comic-Con in historic first visit

Straits Times

5 days ago

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US film-maker George Lucas arrives for the sneak peek of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art panel at Comic-Con in San Diego, California, on July 27.
SAN DIEGO – Comic-Con fans pulled out their lightsabers on July 27 to welcome Star Wars (1977 to present) creator George Lucas to the prominent pop culture convention for the very first time.
Attendees lined up for hours to grab a seat inside the 6,500-person capacity venue, San Diego Convention Center, in San Diego, California, to see the legendary American director behind the Indiana Jones (1981 to 2023) franchise speak at the event on its final day.
Comic-Con, which draws some 130,000 attendees, has become an important platform for movie studios and their stars to showcase the latest film and television offerings, especially those with a genre fan base.
'We've been waiting five decades for this,' said panel moderator and American actress-rapper Queen Latifah, who oversaw the discussion by Lucas and other film-makers.
Instead of discussing his film works, however, he graced the convention to preview his latest project, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art – opening in Los Angeles in 2026 – which he co-founded with his wife, businesswoman Mellody Hobson.
An aerial view shows construction continuing at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Exposition Park in Los Angeles, California, on June 2.
PHOTO: AFP
A first-of-its-kind institution dedicated to illustrated storytelling across time, cultures and media, the almost 4.5ha campus in Exposition Park will include a green space and a 300,000 sq ft building with galleries, two theatres, a library, restaurant, cafe, and retail and community spaces.
'I've been collecting art since I was in college,' Lucas, 81, told the crowd, adding that he has amassed tens of thousands of pieces in his collection. 'I've been doing this for 50 years now, and then it occurred to me that what am I going to do with it all because I refuse to sell it.'
'I could never do that, it's not what I think art is – I think it's more about an emotional connection,' he said.
In his description of the museum, Lucas said the institution will feature a blend of works.
They include illustrations by Normal Rockwell, Jessie Willcox Smith and N.C. Wyeth; artworks by Frida Kahlo, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White and Robert Colescott; and pieces by cartoonists and artists like Winsor McCay, Frank Frazetta and Jack Kirby.
'This is sort of a temple to the people's art,' he said in summation.
The museum, housed in a sleek, curved building, will also feature items from Lucas's films and other exclusive pieces.
For the Star Wars mastermind, the space aims to be a tribute to the importance of narrative art.
'When you're born, the baseline is fear. And as you go through life, you're curious about things, but you're especially curious about things you don't understand, and therefore that's a threat to you.
'And as a result, you make up stories to make it feel good,' he continued.
'Science fiction is a myth... but we've made it real because of science-fiction books and art.'
Among the other members of the panel were Oscar-winning Mexican director Guillermo del Toro and American production designer Doug Chiang, who shaped the aesthetic of the Star Wars universe for decades.
'What's remarkable about George is that he leads from the heart, and this museum is him,' Chiang said.
Del Toro, who will release his latest film Frankenstein in November, said many of the museum's pieces will celebrate freedom of speech.
US film-maker George Lucas (left) speaks as Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro looks on during the sneak peek of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art panel at Comic-Con in San Diego, California, on July 27.
PHOTO: AFP
'We are in a critical moment in which one of the things they like to disappear is the past, and this is memorialising a popular, vociferous, expressive and eloquent moment in our visual past that belongs to all of us,' Del Toro said.
He also described comics as a medium with 'a lot of social conscience' and joked that comic artists 'were the first one to punch a Nazi' in their works.
'What a panel,' gushed attendee Jesse Goldwater, who travelled to San Diego from Los Angeles. 'They are the embodiment of Comic-Con itself – without them, Comic-Con wouldn't exist.' AFP/REUTERS