George Lucas — the man who launched an iconic era in pop culture nearly 50 years ago — received a rapturous welcome during his debut Comic-Con appearance Sunday, where he offered a preview of his long-awaited Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles.
The 81-year-old icon was joined Sunday in the San Diego Convention Center’s Hall H by fellow filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro and art director Doug Chiang for a panel discussion moderated by Queen Latifah.
Co-founded with Lucas’ wife, businesswoman Mellody Hobson, the museum broke ground in March 2018, adjacent to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and is scheduled to open in 2026. It’s meant to “bring together mass-produced images with academically rooted art forms to unpack visual storytelling in its richness and complexity,” officials said.
The museum will feature works by artists including Norman Rockwell, Kadir Nelson, Jessie Willcox Smith, N. C. Wyeth, Beatrix Potter, Judy Baca, Frida Kahlo and Maxfield Parrish; comic art legends such as Winsor McCay, Jack Kirby, Frank Frazetta, Alison Bechdel, Chris Ware and R. Crumb; and photographers Gordon Parks, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Dorothea Lange.
According to the panel, display items will include a life-size Naboo starfighter and General Grevious — a character from the 2005 “Revenge of the Sith” movie — on his wheel-bike, “Peanuts” comic sketches from the 1950s and ’60s, original concept art for Indiana Jones, vintage comic books from Marvel and DC, Lucas’ own Frida Kahlo paintings, two theaters, a library, an event venue and 33 galleries.
“This is sort of a temple to the people,” Lucas said during the panel.
When asked about what he thinks art is, Lucas said, “I think it’s more about an emotional connection with the work, not how much it cost or if a celebrity did it, or whatever. And I don’t think it’s anything that anyone else can tell you.
“The idea that people can tell you what art is, and talk about it, I’ve discovered just from my experience of making movies that other people’s opinions don’t mean much,” Lucas said. “If you see that other people react to it in a very emotional way you say, `I did my job.”’
Lucas said he has worked with hundreds of illustrators and “they’re all great, ” but they don’t get recognized for anything.
Before Lucas strolled onto the panel stage wearing a long-sleeved plaid shirt — to a standing ovation and cheers — singer and actress Queen Latifah introduced him as a man who “revolutionized filmmaking and not just through spectacle, but through a deeply human lens.”
“His magnum opus `Star Wars’ has shaped our lives through generations and taught us that we should trust our instincts,” Latifah said. “One person can change the course of history. And the Force is always within us.”
In 1976, Comic-Con hosted its first “Star Wars” panel, with fans seeing images from the upcoming film, then known as “A New Hope.”
“We are beyond thrilled to welcome George Lucas to Comic-Con for the very first time,” event spokesman David Glanzer said. “Nearly five decades ago, `Star Wars’ made one of its earliest public appearances at our convention, along with a booth featuring Howard Chaykin’s now legendary `Star Wars’ poster as a promotional item.
“Now, to have Mr. Lucas return — this time [in person] to debut the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art — is a true full-circle moment. His lifelong dedication to visual storytelling and world-building resonates deeply with us and our community, and the museum’s mission to celebrate narrative art in all its forms perfectly reflects what Comic-Con has championed from the very beginning.”
Comic-Con is the largest comic book and popular-arts convention in the world, with more than 460,000 square feet of exhibit floor space and more than 1,000 exhibitors each year. It began Thursday and concludes Sunday.
A full schedule of events can be found at comic-con.org/cc/things-to-do/programming-schedule/sunday/.