They All Came, George: Lucas Museum Opens With a Packed House
Oprah Winfrey, Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg and hundreds more filled Exposition Park on Saturday for the opening gala of George Lucas's $1.5 billion museum.
The party was held on Sept. 19 for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, three days before it opens to the public. Businesswoman Mellody Hobson, who co-founded the museum with her husband Lucas, gave the introductory remarks, according to Variety.
Hobson said Lucas had been nervous about turnout. He kept asking, “Will this person come? Do you think that person will come?” She told him, “They will all come, George.” They did.
The guest list crossed film, music, business and politics. It included Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B. Jordan, Samuel L. Jackson, Spike Lee, Kim Kardashian, Cynthia Erivo and Christopher Nolan. Also there: Guillermo del Toro, Peter Jackson, Denis Villeneuve, Edgar Wright, George R. R. Martin, Nicolas Cage, Doja Cat, Al Pacino, Francis Ford Coppola, Jon M. Chu and Vin Diesel.
More names followed. Gayle King, Katy Perry, Justin Trudeau, Keke Palmer, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Michael Bloomberg, Bob Iger and Dana Walden attended. Janelle Monae, Lee Daniels, Tracee Ellis Ross, Zac Posen, Jon Batiste, Diane Warren, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were also reported in the room.
Hobson got laughs early. “If your husband or spouse comes home and says they want to build a museum, I suggest your response is a hard no,” she said. She then addressed the idea head on. “If critics say a museum of narrative art is too much like a popcorn movie and not enough like an art film, well, we like popcorn movies in our family.”
Lucas said the project was once tagged as a “temple to illustrators.” The $1.5 billion building was entirely funded by Lucas and Hobson. It holds 1,200 works drawn from Lucas’s 30,000-piece private art collection.
The night was organised with co-chairs including Julie Bell, del Toro, Greta Gerwig, Sir Lewis Hamilton, JR, Spielberg and Pharrell Williams. Queen Latifah emceed the opening remarks. Spielberg joined Lucas and Hobson on stage to celebrate, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and the Black Eyed Peas performed, according to LA Magazine.
What makes this stand out is the mix on the walls. The museum is built around narrative art, meaning work that tells a story, from illustration and comics to film design. Ahead of the opening it offered a closer look at the storytelling behind Lucas’s Star Wars franchise, according to Reuters.
The sculptural building was designed by architect Ma Yansong, with landscape design by Mia Lehrer, on a site that was once an asphalt lot. The museum will open to the public on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, according to the Lucas Museum. Member tickets cover visits between Sept. 22, 2026 and Feb. 28, 2027, and a free preview day for local neighbours was planned before the grand opening.
