George Lucas Offers a Peek into His New Museum: 'A Temple to the People's Art'

We’re still a year out from the opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art—but on Sunday, George Lucas himself pulled back the curtain on the ambitious project. At his first appearance at San Diego’s Comic-Con International, the legendary filmmaker and museum cofounder offered a glimpse into what he called “a temple to the people’s art.”

“Society cannot exist without a common belief system,” he said at the panel. “And that’s where illustration is vital to show you what that means in everyday life.”

As indicated by its name, the museum, masterminded by Lucas and his wife, investor Mellody Hobson, will spotlight narrative art and storytelling across eras and mediums. When it opens in 2026, its 300,000 square-foot building will present artifacts ranging from cave drawings and hieroglyphics to comic books, film, and photography—works that, per the museum, “represent stories through images.”

The Comic-Con panel saw Lucas joined onstage by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, also a museum board member, and Doug Chiang, senior vice president and executive design director of Lucasfilm, in a conversation moderated by Queen Latifah.

The talk centered, fittingly, on the museum’s efforts to collect and showcase illustrative and comic art—a subject close to Lucas’s heart and, of course, that of the audience at the comic convention. But while a popular genre, the panelists reflected, it isn’t always immediately valued.

“I’ve worked with hundreds of illustrators in my life and they’re all great,” Lucas said, “but they don’t always get recognized for it.”

“Comic art and magazine illustration were kind of looked down upon… but it was a way for me to enjoy art, and it invited me to learn more about art,” Chiang explained. “What I love about what George and Mellody are doing with this museum is they are acknowledging and giving respect to artists who really haven’t been highlighted before.”

The museum’s foundational collection isn’t just heavy on paintings—including those by the likes of Norman Rockwell, Frida Kahlo, N.C. Wyeth, and Maxfield Parrish—but illustrations by such giants as Robert Crumb, Frank Frazetta, and Jack Kirby. It also presides over the Separate Cinema Archive, the most extensive collection of Black film memorabilia, and the Historic LucasFilm Archives.

The panel further highlighted key comic works in the museum’s holdings: original Peanuts strips dating from the 1950s and ‘60s, an original splash page from 1968’s Black Panther, and the first-ever Flash Gordon comic strip. (Fun fact: Lucas wanted to direct a Flash Gordon movie back in the ‘70s, but, failing to secure the rights, he concocted his own space fantasy film called Star Wars.)

“Imagine if we only had classical music, and rock ‘n’ roll was never created? This is rock ‘n’ roll and rock ‘n’ roll needs to be enshrined,” Del Toro said of popular media. “This is memorializing a vociferous, expressive, and eloquent moment that belongs to all of us, and the museum celebrates this.”

But besides looking to the past, Chiang added, the museum also has its sights set on the next generation of illustrators.

“Narrative art is a way to educate kids and say, in a way, it’s okay to draw fantasy, to draw things from your mind… It shouldn’t be looked down upon,” he said. “My hope is the museum will inspire the next Norman Rockwell or Frank Frazetta.”