The George Lucas Museum is set to welcome the public in Los Angeles on September 22, following its September 19 opening celebration and years of planning. The institution brings together visual storytelling, cinema, illustration, comics, photography, murals and fine art inside a striking new building in Exposition Park.
The opening represents a major moment for the project founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson. The museum has been designed around a broad idea: stories can be told through images in many different forms.
Its collection stretches across centuries and cultures. Visitors will find everything from historic paintings and illustrations to comic art, cinematic objects and contemporary works.
The result is a museum that has a clear connection to Lucas’ career while extending far beyond his most famous films.
Public Opening Date and Latest Update
The museum will open to the public on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
That date follows member preview events earlier in September and a neighborhood preview held on September 13. The institution then marked its official opening with a major celebration on September 19.
The opening event brought together figures from entertainment, art, technology and philanthropy. George Lucas and Mellody Hobson hosted the celebration as the museum moved toward regular public operations.
Tickets are already available for the initial public period. Current reservations cover visits through February 28, 2027.
Visitors should plan around timed entry. The museum requires an advance timed-entry ticket or event reservation for admission, including for members.
A Museum Built Around Visual Storytelling
The central idea behind the institution is narrative art.
That concept allows the museum to bring together works that might traditionally appear in very different cultural settings. Paintings can sit within the same larger conversation as illustrations, photographs, comic books, film designs and murals.
The inaugural presentation occupies approximately 100,000 square feet across more than 30 galleries. It features more than 1,300 works from the museum’s collection.
The galleries explore storytelling through subjects such as:
- Heroes and myths
- Family
- Love
- Community
- Childhood
- Work
- Adventure
- Fantasy
- Romance
- Sports
- Comics and graphic storytelling
- Photography
- Murals
- Cinema
This organization gives visitors different ways to approach the collection. Someone interested in film can follow cinematic material, while another visitor may focus on painting, comics or public art.
Inside the 300,000-Square-Foot Building
The museum occupies a 300,000-square-foot structure designed by architect Ma Yansong of MAD, with Stantec serving as executive architect.
Its exterior has a sweeping, curved appearance that makes the building look almost suspended above the surrounding landscape. The design avoids the conventional box-shaped museum form.
More than 1,200 curved fiberglass-reinforced polymer panels cover the exterior. Each panel contributes to the building’s continuous sculptural appearance.
A large central opening creates one of the building’s most distinctive interior and exterior views. The central arch spans about 185 feet, while an elliptical oculus brings the sky into view above the main public area.
The building contains galleries, theaters, a research library, learning spaces, classrooms, retail areas, food service and event spaces.
Its design also connects closely with the surrounding park.
The New Exposition Park Landscape
The museum stands within a new 13-acre campus designed by landscape architect Mia Lehrer and Studio-MLA.
The landscape replaced a large asphalt parking area with a public green space featuring trees, gardens, meadows and gathering areas.
More than 300 trees have been planted across the campus. The landscaping emphasizes native and drought-tolerant vegetation suited to Southern California.
Visitors can also find an amphitheater, a hanging garden and a fountain designed to resemble a waterfall. Ten monumental outdoor sculptures sit along accessible paths around the campus.
The outdoor areas are important because visitors do not need museum admission simply to enjoy the park.
That creates a public component around the institution that extends beyond the ticketed galleries.
The Opening Exhibitions
The inaugural exhibition program covers more than 1,300 works.
The first floor introduces visitors to the long history of visual storytelling with The History of Narrative Art: Heroes • Myths • The Sacred.
The presentation looks at how images have helped societies communicate beliefs, preserve stories and create shared identities.
Some artworks and locations that cannot be physically moved appear through highly detailed reproductions. This allows the exhibition to connect objects in the collection with important architectural and archaeological sites around the world.
Other galleries focus on particular subjects and artistic formats.
The museum’s opening displays include works associated with artists such as Norman Rockwell, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and other influential creators.
Comic books, graphic novels, photography and murals receive dedicated attention as well.
That mixture reflects the institution’s broad interpretation of what belongs within a museum of narrative art.
Star Wars Has a Major Presence, But the Museum Is Much Broader
Lucas’ connection to Star Wars naturally makes the franchise one of the most anticipated parts of the museum.
The opening includes Star Wars in Motion, an exhibition centered on designs, props, costumes and vehicles associated with the films.
Among the objects featured are Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder from the original 1977 film and the first physical build of General Grievous’ Wheel Bike from Revenge of the Sith.
The campus also contains additional references to the franchise.
Outdoor sculpture and display pieces include characters and imagery associated with the films. A Naboo starfighter is also displayed in the library area.
However, visitors should not mistake the institution for a single-franchise attraction.
The Star Wars material forms part of a much larger collection devoted to visual storytelling.
That distinction is central to understanding what the museum offers.
Frida Kahlo, Norman Rockwell and Other Collection Highlights
One of the major works visitors can see is a rare 1940 self-portrait by Frida Kahlo.
The painting has a connection to Leo Eloesser, Kahlo’s physician and friend. Its presence reflects the museum’s interest in works that carry both visual and personal narratives.
Norman Rockwell also has a notable presence.
His illustrations demonstrate how popular visual imagery can communicate stories and cultural ideas to large audiences. The collection’s inclusion of commercial illustration alongside fine art is one of the institution’s defining characteristics.
Comic artist Jack Kirby and other major figures from popular visual culture also appear in the collection.
The museum does not draw a strict line between traditional fine art and popular imagery. Instead, it asks visitors to consider how each medium communicates a story.
Banksy and Large-Scale Murals
The museum’s mural galleries add another major dimension to the opening.
Works associated with Judith F. Baca, Diego Rivera and French artist JR appear in the presentation.
The collection also includes newly acquired works connected to Banksy. The museum has installed Banksy’s work in a fifth-floor gallery alongside other examples of large-scale storytelling.
Judith Baca’s work is especially relevant to the Los Angeles setting. Her archive connected to The History of California, widely known as The Great Wall of Los Angeles, forms part of the museum’s mural presentation.
The gallery demonstrates how murals can preserve history and represent community identity.
This part of the collection also shows why the museum’s definition of narrative art extends beyond objects displayed inside traditional frames.
Two Theaters Bring Cinema Into the Experience
Film plays an important role throughout the museum.
Two dedicated theaters are named the Robert Flaherty Theater and the Slavko Vorkapich Theater.
Their programming is designed as a continuous, drop-in experience. Films range from short works lasting only a few minutes to presentations lasting up to about 90 minutes. Visitors can enter and leave rather than committing to a traditional screening schedule.
The Robert Flaherty Theater focuses on documentary filmmaking and the ability of cinema to capture real life.
The Slavko Vorkapich Theater explores cinema as an artistic and technological medium. Its programming includes early film, animation and experimental work.
The opening schedule begins on September 22 and continues throughout the first week of public operation.
This makes the theaters an important part of a museum visit rather than a separate attraction.
Research Library Adds Another Layer
The museum also contains a research library and learning area.
Its design includes floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the surrounding park. The library supports research connected to the collection and the broader study of visual storytelling.
A Naboo starfighter is displayed in the library area, creating an unusual meeting point between research space and cinematic history.
The institution also includes classrooms and studio spaces for educational programs.
These facilities reinforce the museum’s goal of making storytelling accessible through both exhibitions and learning.
Skywalker Grill Opens Alongside the Museum
Food and hospitality are another part of the opening experience.
Skywalker Grill, located on the museum’s rooftop, is scheduled to open on September 22.
The restaurant takes its name from Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch connection and offers a setting overlooking Los Angeles. Its menu focuses on American cuisine and seasonal California ingredients.
The restaurant is intended to operate as a destination in its own right.
That means visitors can experience the rooftop restaurant as part of a museum visit while other guests can visit for dining.
The addition gives the new campus another public-facing feature beyond galleries and film programs.
Tickets and Planning a Visit
The current general admission structure includes:
| Visitor | Admission |
|---|---|
| Adults | $25 |
| Seniors 65+ | $21 |
| Children 17 and under | Free |
| Members | Free |
| Active-duty military | Free |
Timed entry applies to visitors, including members.
Current reservations are available for visits through February 28, 2027.
Because the opening is attracting significant attention, visitors planning an initial trip should reserve an entry time before arriving.
The museum is located at One Lucas Plaza in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park.
The park itself provides a separate opportunity to explore the campus without entering the paid galleries.
Why the Opening Matters for Los Angeles
The arrival of the museum adds a major new cultural institution to Exposition Park.
Its scale is significant, but its approach is equally distinctive. Instead of limiting its collection to one category, the institution brings together different forms of visual communication.
A visitor might move from a centuries-old artistic tradition to a comic-book image, then encounter a movie prop, photograph or mural.
That variety reflects the museum’s central philosophy.
The collection also creates a direct connection between Lucas’ career and a much broader history of visual culture. His filmmaking legacy is visible throughout the institution, but it sits alongside artists whose work comes from entirely different periods and traditions.
What Makes the Opening Different
The September 22 opening is the result of a project that has taken years to reach completion.
The museum broke ground in Los Angeles in 2018 after earlier plans for other locations did not move forward. Its completed building now stands as one of the most distinctive new structures in Exposition Park.
The opening collection provides the clearest picture yet of what Lucas and Hobson intended to create.
It is not simply a place to display film memorabilia. It is an institution built around the broader question of how humans use images to tell stories.
That idea connects the museum’s fine-art holdings with popular culture and cinema.
The result is a collection designed to appeal to visitors with very different interests.
The Next Chapter Begins September 22
After its September 19 opening celebration, the museum is now preparing for its first full public week.
September 22 will bring the galleries, film programs, research library, gardens and other public facilities into regular operation.
The first visitors will see an institution that combines Lucas’ interest in filmmaking with a collection that reaches much further into the history of visual storytelling.
Its opening exhibitions provide an extensive introduction to the collection, while the surrounding park gives the campus a public dimension beyond the galleries.
For visitors planning a Los Angeles cultural trip, the opening creates a new destination with art, film, architecture, outdoor space and dining all brought together on one campus.
Have you visited or are you planning a trip to the new museum? Share your thoughts and stay informed as its first public season gets underway.