LOS ANGELES — The long-delayed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, backed by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas, will open to the public on Sept. 22, 2026. across from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Sporting Tribune first reported in July that it would open during the beginning of the USC football season.
The futuristic, spaceship-shaped building has been under construction in Exposition Park since 2018. Originally scheduled to open in 2021, the museum has faced several delays due to the pandemic, supply chain disruptions and leadership changes.
The museum will feature more than 100,000 square feet of gallery space, multiple theaters, classrooms, restaurants, and a rooftop event space. The surrounding 11-acre park, designed by landscape architect Mia Lehrer, will be open to the public and include walking trails, gardens and outdoor gathering areas.
Lucas, who has invested over $1 billion into the project alongside his wife Mellody Hobson, envisions the museum as a space to explore narrative art across mediums — from comic books and illustration to film and digital media. The museum’s location next to the Coliseum and USC places it in the heart of South Los Angeles’ cultural and academic corridor.
Designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects, the 300,000-square-foot structure features sweeping curves, a hovering silhouette and a rooftop garden meant to blend futuristic aesthetics with park-like public space.
Inside, the museum will house more than 40,000 works spanning centuries of narrative art, a term Lucas and Hobson have long emphasized as the cultural framework guiding the institution. The collection includes paintings from icons such as Norman Rockwell, illustrations from comic-book legends like Jack Kirby and Frank Frazetta, and pieces that trace the evolution of visual storytelling from traditional canvases to contemporary digital works. Film buffs will find extensive archival material from Lucasfilm’s history, including models, props, concept art and other artifacts used in the creation of “Star Wars” and Lucas’s broader cinematic career. Exhibits will also explore the technical craft behind filmmaking and animation, offering visitors a behind-the-scenes look at how narrative imagery is constructed.
The museum’s placement in Exposition Park positions it alongside the Natural History Museum, the California Science Center and BMO Stadium, the home of LAFC and Angel City FC, creating a growing cultural district that will play a prominent role during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. Its proximity to the Coliseum — home to USC football — is expected to generate significant foot traffic, particularly on Saturdays when crowds fill the neighborhood for Trojans home games. Museum officials and local planners envision the institution becoming both a community anchor for South Los Angeles and a global destination for tourists.
The long-delayed project now enters its final construction phase, with crews completing interior installations and preparing the museum for its fall 2026 debut. As the countdown begins, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is poised to deliver on a promise Lucas made years ago: to create a dynamic cultural home for the art of storytelling in all its forms, in a city whose entertainment heritage has shaped the world’s imagination.
