George Lucas reveals new details about Lucas Museum during Comic-Con 2025
The panel, held in the convention's largest venue, drew more than 6,000 attendees and closed out the four-day event with one of its most widely attended sessions on Sunday, July 27.
Joined by director Guillermo del Toro, Lucasfilm executive Doug Chiang and moderator Queen Latifah, the 'Star Wars' director discussed the museum's mission and revealed new details ahead of its 2026 opening in Los Angeles' Exposition Park.
'Society cannot exist without a common belief system,' Lucas said. 'And that's where illustration is vital to show you what that means in everyday life.'
He described the museum as 'a temple to the people's art.'
The $1 billion institution, co-founded by Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, will focus on narrative art across cultures and periods — from ancient cave paintings to comic books and digital media.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art was originally proposed for San Francisco, where Lucas aimed to build the institution in the Presidio on a former Army commissary site at Crissy Field near the Golden Gate Bridge.
Despite strong political support from figures including then-Gov. Jerry Brown and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Presidio Trust ultimately rejected the proposal, citing concerns over the scale and design.
Lucas then explored a location in Chicago, which also fell through following a legal challenge from a local preservation group. After years of delays and shifting plans, Lucas selected Los Angeles' Exposition Park in 2017 as the museum's permanent home.
Del Toro, who serves on the museum's board, compared the museum's focus to the canonization of pop culture.
'Imagine if we only had classical music, and rock 'n' roll was never created?' he said. 'This is rock 'n' roll and rock 'n' roll needs to be enshrined.'
Chiang noted that comic and magazine art were once 'looked down upon,' but said the museum will elevate underrecognized creators.
'They are acknowledging and giving respect to artists who really haven't been highlighted before,' he said.
The panel ended with a standing ovation.
The museum remains on track to open next year despite recent layoffs and leadership changes.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
8 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Lucas museum amps up. The LA excitement could have been happening in Chicago.
Ever since Chicago spurned the Lucas museum, which would have been funded by at least $800 million in philanthropic investments from 'Star Wars' icon George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, a Chicago native, city snobs have pushed two narratives: one that the museum would never get built and another that it would not be any good if and when it did. Both of them are proving to be nonsense, as was obvious to us from the start. Back in 2016, Chicago lost a fully funded cultural attraction that would have drawn attention and visitors from all over the world. This was a Midwestern mistake for the ages. On Sunday, Lucas showed up for the first time ever at Comic-Con in San Diego to get people excited about the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. (Did we mention this could have been in Chicago?) He appeared alongside Oscar winners Guillermo del Toro and Doug Chiang on a panel hosted by Oscar nominee Queen Latifah. Do you routinely see such folks strolling down Michigan Avenue? Not since Oprah Winfrey left, you don't. Samuel L. Jackson narrated the 'sizzle reel,' promoting the museum. To say the Lucas appearance was a hot ticket is to understate. What will be in the 300,000-square-foot museum once it opens on its 11-acre campus in Los Angeles' Exposition Park next year? Paintings by Frida Kahlo, Maxfield Parrish, Kara Lewis and Norman Rockwell, comic book art from R. Crumb and Jack Kirby, original Peanuts and Flash Gordon comic strips, a fresco panel by Diego Rivera, illustrations by E.H. Shepard for 'The House at Pooh Corner.' The comic book covers that introduced Iron Man and Flash Gordon. Concept art from 'Indiana Jones.' A life-sized Naboo starfighter. That's just a taste. There will be, to say the least, a lot of interest in all those things. Chicago failed to understand what Lucas meant by 'narrative art.' But it's really not hard: his museum will be made up of the art to which people feel emotional connections and which forms much of the basis of our shared culture. The Lucas museum will be distinct from traditional art museums and will draw accordingly. Del Toro said Sunday that he, too, will likely deposit his own formidable collection of populist narrative art within the museum. Lucas called his decade-long endeavor 'a temple to the people's art.' The people's art. Chicago would have been its natural home. The dithering and naysaying that these days seems to come with doing anything substantial in this town lost us a potential jewel. What a colossal missed opportunity.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Darth Vader's Main Lightsaber Set for Auction in Rare Opportunity for ‘Star Wars' Fans (Exclusive)
A prized Darth Vader prop is heading to auction in a rare find for Star Wars enthusiasts. The character's screen-matched primary dueling lightsaber that was used in the films The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi is set for auction from Propstore this September in Los Angeles. The item was held onscreen by Star Wars actor David Prowse and stunt double Bob Anderson and has a presale value estimate ranging from $1 million to $3 million. More from The Hollywood Reporter George Lucas Heading to Comic-Con for First Time Ever Kenneth Colley, Admiral Piett in a Pair of 'Star Wars' Films, Dies at 87 'Rogue One' Director Has No Plans to Make Another 'Star Wars' Movie: "I'm Very Happy to Move on" This lightsaber is said to be the only hero lightsaber from the original Star Wars trilogy to ever hit an auction. The Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction coincides with this year marking the 45th anniversary of the release of The Empire Strikes Back. 'Surviving genuine lightsaber props from the original trilogy of films are exceedingly rare, and Propstore is honored to present this historic artifact in our September sale,' says Propstore COO Brandon Alinger. 'It is a grail-level piece, worthy of the finest collections in the world.' In August, the lightsaber will head out on a three-city press tour spanning London, New York and Beverly Hills. Also part of the tour will be a bullwhip and belt worn by Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, a hero close-up neuralyzer from Men in Black and Sauron's helmet for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Back in 2022, Propstore sold a screen-matched model miniature X-wing fighter that is 22 inches long and was created for director George Lucas' original Star Wars film. The item went for more than $2.3 million. Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Stormtrooper Helmet From ‘Star Wars: A New Hope' Sells for $256K at Auction
A screen-used Stormtrooper helmet from Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope was sold for $256,000 at an auction held Sunday at Comic-Con in San Diego. The helmet was previously exhibited at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, last year as part of an exhibition titled 'Defending America and the Galaxy: Star Wars and SDI.' According to Julien's Auctions and Turner Classic Movies, which organized the event, this original stunt helmet was used in the production and is believed to be featured in scenes on Tatooine as a 'Sandtrooper' helmet. It's said to be one of only six stunt helmets known to have survived and are accounted for in private collections. More from The Hollywood Reporter Darth Vader's Main Lightsaber Set for Auction in Rare Opportunity for 'Star Wars' Fans (Exclusive) Hollywood Flashback: Before 'The Naked Gun,' 'Police Squad!' Took Its Shot George Lucas Heading to Comic-Con for First Time Ever The auction was part of 'Echoes From the Galaxy, A Star Wars Memorabilia Exhibit + Auction,' a two-week event presented at Comic-Con Museum that was touted as having 'sold the world's largest collection of Star Wars artifacts from renowned collectors, fans and insiders of the epic franchise.' Other items that sold include: An original stunt lightsaber prop used by Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and original bladed lightsaber prop used by Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn) in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (each lot $38,400) An original lightsaber hilt prop screen used by Ray Park (Darth Maul) in The Phantom Menace ($76,800) A screen-matched Resistance pilot 'Red Four' helmet from Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens with a Lucasfilm certificate of authenticity ($32,000) An original hero metal GLIE-44 blaster used by Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron) in The Force Awakens ($44,800) An original production-made lightsaber for Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill, cast from the molds of a touring lightsaber from Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi ($25,600) An original prop right hand worn by Anthony Daniels as C-3PO in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back ($16,000) A'Holographic Tumbler' ensemble designed by Bob Mackie worn in the infamous 1978 The Star Wars Holiday Special TV show Part of the proceeds from the auction will benefit Comic-Con Museum, a division of San Diego Comic Convention, a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation that aimed to raise awareness of and appreciation for comics and related art forms. And nearly 300 props, production materials and memorabilia assembled by collectors Steve Sansweet, Gus Lopez, Duncan Jenkins, and Lisa Stevens and Vic Wertz were offered up for the auction, with the intention of creating a permanent home for The Saga Museum of Star Wars Memorabilia from a portion of the proceeds. Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 40 Greatest Needle Drops in Film History The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best Solve the daily Crossword
