George Lucas Says Opening Lucas Museum ‘Almost Broke My Will’: ‘It’s Taken So Long to Get Here’

George Lucas previewed the long-in-the-works Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles on Wednesday, and Lucas said of the Herculean effort, “I’m fascinated by doing things that people say can’t be done.”

“I’m used to doing the impossible,” said the “Star Wars” creator, who, along with his wife Mellody Hobson, has been working on the museum concept for 17 years. “Part of the problem is I’m a contrarian. I’m fascinated by doing things that people say can’t be done. This one almost broke my will.”

In addition to a gallery packed with life-sized props from Star Wars movies, the 300,000 square foot spaceship-like museum next to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum features more than 30 galleries packed with Lucas’ collection of narrative art — from an extensive collection of Norman Rockwell paintings to works by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Maxfield Parrish and Frank Frazetta, to rooms of photography, comic book art and Western paintings and sculptures.

Why narrative art? For Lucas, art and culture are inextricably combined.

“It’s something that I felt very, very strongly about in terms of honoring illustrators, artists who illustrate stories that are already written, and most of the stories are myths; they’re not real, but the illustrations make them real,” Lucas said. “A picture is very powerful, and the stories are very powerful, and you combine them together, and those two elements create a society.”

Lucas also recognized the museum staff and creators, saying “the great people that we’ve assembled to do this have been a big advantage.” The museum is designed by Ma Yansong of MAD with Stansec, with landscape architecture by Mia Lehrer.

Check out some of the movie-themed pieces at the museum, which opens to the public Sept. 22.

• George Lucas and Mellody Hobson

  Founders George Lucas and Mellody Hobson preview the museum for the media.

• General Grievous in his wheel bike

  General Grievous’ wheel bike from “Revenge of the Sith”

• Mace Windu and swoop bike

  Mace Windu’s costume from “The Phantom Menace” is displayed with Owen Lars’ swoop bike from “Attack of the Clones.”

• Imperial speeder bike

  The Imperial speeder bike from “Return of the Jedi” with Princess Leia as an Endor rebel

• Sith speeder

  Sith speeder with Darth Maul from “The Phantom Menace”

• Princess Leia

  Princess Leia and an illustration of Cloud City from “The Empire Strikes Back”

• Jawa, Luke Skywalker

  Costumes from “A New Hope” and “Attack of the Clones” 

• Darth Vader

  Darth Vader’s costume from “Revenge of the Sith”

• Jabba the Hutt’s sail barge

  Sail barge from “Return of the Jedi”

• Sand skiff

  Sand skiff from “Return of the Jedi”

• Anakin’s airspeeder

  Anakin’s airspeeer from “Attack of the Clones”

• R2-D2 and C-3PO

• Beyond Star Wars: Batman

  Stunt costume for Batman — “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises”

• Indiana Jones

  An Indiana Jones statue by Lawrence Noble

• Conan the Barbarian art

  “Shadows in the Moonlight” — Conan the Barbarian art by Sanjulian (Manuel Perez Clemente)

• Manga gallery

  The entrance to the manga gallery

• Cowardly lion

  An original costume from 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz”

• Entrance to The History of Narrative Art exhibit

  On the first floor, digital and physical art from the Renaissance and beyond portrays heroes, myths and the sacred.

• Downtown skyline

  Downtown Los Angeles seen from the fifth floor of the Lucas Museum

• Entrance to the gift shop

  The bookstore and gift shop include Star Wars-themed items and books on the artists represented in the museum.

• The oculus overlooks the courtyard

  The distinctive shape of the building creates an undulating shaded area in front of the lobby. 

• Lucas Museum exterior

  Spaceship or museum? The building resembles a UFO as seen from the gardens.