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The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is not a Star Wars museum. George Lucas is adamant about that. But imagine the riots if the state-of-the-art showplace opened and contained not one scrap of the galaxy far, far away? Even Palpatine wouldn’t dare pull a troll on that level, and Lucas himself is very aware of the optics.
In a new interview the Wall Street Journal conducted with Lucas and his wife and collaborator Mellody Hobson, the outlet described the Lucas Museum as spotlighting “a sprawling lineage of artists that the filmmaker feels deep kinship with, from Stone Age cave painters to masters of futuristic fantasy,” including “a collection Lucas started 60 years ago with the comic art he could afford in college. Among the 40,000-plus pieces are 160 works by Norman Rockwell, whose vignettes of American life are the epitome of narrative art for Lucas.”
The galleries are arranged “around themes like family, love, work, and play, with artworks that explore the myths and stories that bind society.”
Like, say, the stories of Star Wars, which have certainly united (and just as often divided) fans for decades?
After noting that Lucas is the museum’s curator (“Earlier this year, the experienced museum director who’d been hired to oversee curation stepped down after Lucas opted to do the job himself”), the WSJ reported that “one inaugural exhibit will feature the designs of Star Wars vehicles.”
Yep, just the one so far. We did know there’d be a Naboo Starfighter on hand, among other Lucas-adjacent pop culture items—but apparently, we’re lucky to be getting any Star Wars at all.
“It’s one gallery out of 33. And I did it grudgingly,” Lucas explained.
And that’s because he’s no dummy: “I didn’t want people to come to the museum and say, ‘Where’s the Star Wars?’”
You can learn more about the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art at its official website, which does not yet list a specific opening date other than 2026.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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