George Lucas Reveals Opening His Museum Almost Broke His Will After 17-Year Journey
George Lucas has dedicated decades to creating expansive worlds, yet even the visionary behind ‘Star Wars’ acknowledges that some projects challenge him like no other. His latest venture, a passion project that has taken nearly two decades to come to fruition, has emerged as one of the most formidable challenges of his career.
This endeavor is the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a vast institution focused on visual storytelling that Lucas has been developing with his wife, Mellody Hobson, for 17 years. The museum has faced numerous obstacles, including changes in location, prolonged construction timelines, and years of eager anticipation from fans waiting to witness the filmmaker’s long-awaited vision come to life.
This week, Lucas provided reporters with a sneak peek inside the museum ahead of its official public opening. He candidly reflected on the difficulties of the journey, admitting that the project took a significant personal toll.
Discussing the effort involved in bringing the museum to life, Lucas revealed that the process pushed him beyond his limits. “I’m used to doing the impossible. Part of the problem is I’m a contrarian. I’m fascinated by doing things that people say can’t be done. This one almost broke my will,” Lucas stated, as reported by Variety.
Such honesty is striking coming from a filmmaker renowned for his pursuit of ambitious and unconventional ideas throughout his career, from independent filmmaking to creating an entire franchise from the ground up. Lucas also elaborated on why narrative art became the museum’s focal point, expressing his desire to honor illustrators who breathe life into myths and stories through their artistry, making the narratives feel tangible even when they are not.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is located in Exposition Park, with construction on the ambitious project commencing in 2018. This five-story, 300,000-square-foot museum is set to officially open its doors to the public on September 22, offering over 100,000 square feet of gallery space spread across more than 30 individual galleries.
In keeping with Lucas’s cinematic legacy, the museum features a gallery filled with life-sized props from the ‘Star Wars’ films, showcasing beloved characters like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Darth Vader. However, the collection goes beyond a galaxy far, far away, including an extensive array of Norman Rockwell paintings alongside works by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Maxfield Parrish, and Frank Frazetta, as well as dedicated areas for photography, comic book art, and Western paintings and sculptures.
The museum’s design was crafted by architect Ma Yansong of MAD, in collaboration with Stantec, while landscape architecture was overseen by Mia Lehrer. Outside the museum, a sculpture garden features Star Wars characters Padme and Leia depicted in battle against Jabba the Hutt and a Nexu, seamlessly merging the museum’s cinematic roots with its broader artistic mission.
The museum’s $1 billion investment underscores the ambitious nature of Lucas’s vision, with the filmmaker attributing the project’s completion to the dedicated team surrounding him, despite its lengthy and often challenging journey. Executive director Tracey Bates has emphasized that the combination of Lucas’s personal history in Los Angeles and the city’s status as the heart of American cinema made the Exposition Park site a fitting home for the project.
With the public opening just weeks away, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art stands as one of the most significant cultural investments tied to a single filmmaker’s vision in recent memory. After 17 years of challenges and perseverance, Lucas is finally poised to see his dream come to life for audiences to experience firsthand.
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!