George Lucas Unveils Inaugural Cinema Exhibit and Opening Date for LA Museum
‘Star Wars in Motion’: George Lucas Unveils Inaugural Cinema Exhibit and Opening Date for LA Museum
LOS ANGELES — The galaxy’s most anticipated cultural landmark finally has a launch date. In a "May the Fourth" announcement that has sent shockwaves through the Star Wars fandom, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has officially confirmed its opening date and the name of its first-ever cinema-focused exhibition.
The museum, co-founded by legendary filmmaker George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, will open its doors in Los Angeles’s Exposition Park on 22nd September 2026. Taking centre stage in its inaugural lineup is Star Wars in Motion, a massive installation dedicated to the craftsmanship and engineering that brought Lucas’s visionary universe to life.
The ‘Propulsive’ Power of the First Six Films
While the museum’s 100,000 square feet of gallery space will cover everything from Renaissance paintings to contemporary comics, Star Wars in Motion is being positioned as the "Inaugural Cinema Exhibition."
Drawn directly from the Lucas Archives, the exhibit will focus specifically on the evolution of vehicle design and movement across the original and prequel trilogies. In a nod to Lucas’s well-documented obsession with speed and mechanics, the exhibition will feature a collection of high-speed racers, hulking transport vessels, and starfighters.
“From Luke’s Landspeeder in A New Hope to the first physical build of General Grievous’s Wheel Bike from Revenge of the Sith, this exhibit will dazzle audiences with the possibilities of propulsive motion,” a museum representative stated.
A ‘People’s Art’ Revolution
The announcement also included a first look at the broader inaugural programme, which features over 1,200 objects spread across 30 galleries. Lucas, who has long championed the idea of narrative art as "the people’s art," has curated a collection that bridges the gap between high-brow historical works and popular culture.
Lucas Museum – Inaugural Exhibition Highlights
The Architectural ‘Spaceship’
The museum building itself, designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects, has already become a landmark in downtown LA. With its sinuous, futuristic curves, the 300,000-square-foot structure is frequently compared to a landed starship.
Surrounding the facility is an 11-acre campus of landscaped gardens and parkland designed by Studio-MLA, which will integrate the museum into the local community through outdoor programming and learning spaces.
The Verdict
By choosing to focus the first cinema exhibit on the "Motion" of his first six films, George Lucas is subtly reclaiming the technical legacy of the franchise he sold to Disney in 2012. For fans, it represents a rare opportunity to see "The Maker’s" personal selection of the items that defined a generation.
With membership tiers already ranging from $140 to $600, the museum is expected to be a sell-out attraction well before its September debut. For those who have waited nearly a decade for the project to reach completion, the message from the Lucas Museum is clear: In September, we ride.
