George Lucas SDCC Panel Live Blog: Star Wars' Creator Talks Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art And More
It's the iconic filmmaker's first time!
We're seated and waiting for the panel to begin in about 20 minutes. Hall H is packed with fans of Star Wars movies and other Lucasfilm creations, as they have packed their lightsabers and brought their best cosplays to the con for Lucas' debut to SDCC. Check back here throughout the next hour for updates on what happens.
Fans are cheering and chanting "LUCAS" as we continue to wait for the panel to begin. The energy is going to be high on this one for sure!
OK, we're getting started with Queen Latifah, who is moderating, Star Wars production designer Doug Chiang, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and George Lucas all on stage. Lucas got a huge standing ovation from the crowd upon his arrival.
We just saw a preview of the the museum, which looks amazing, and so futuristic and sleek. In a video, Lucas called it a "dedication to cultural fantasy" as we saw a sneak peek of just a handful of 40,000 works at the museum. There's going to be everything from comic book art from Jack Kirby to art from Frida Kahlo. Oh, and loads of Star Wars props and ships, of course.
George Lucas said he's been collecting art for decades, starting with comic book art and such. I'm paraphrasing her, but Lucas says that art is anything that means something to you, and if it doesn't than you can simply move on to the next piece. His comments can't help but remind one of how his work on Star Wars has received mixed praise over the years (such as with the prequels).
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, who is on the museum's board, and set to release his take on Frankenstein later this year, calls the Lucas museum more so a "lineage of images that have been spoken" rather than simply one man's collection. He also brought up how important it is in this moment in time to look at art over the years not only as a way to express one's self, but make sure dark times in history don't repeat themselves.
Del Toro is speaking about how these days, there are ideas that A.I. can create art, but what's important about art doesn't come "in a fucking app." That got massive applause from the crowd.
Queen Latifah named off some of the special pieces from one display at the museum, which are important to culture. If you visit the museum, you'll be able to see artwork for Flash Gordon, Peanuts, Iron Man and Black Panther originals from 1968.
She asked Lucas to to speak about a group of pieces from Norman Rockwell called the Four Freedoms, which will be on display. He described one depicting a family during Thanksgiving, which he finds especially evocative because "most families are dysfunctional" but they are important because they "keep society together."
Lucas leads "from the heart", according to Chiang. The production designer also says the museum will be a great education for kids and hopes it will inspire the next Norman Rockwell or other great artists.
Latifah has also pointed out how there's no right angles in the museum, and asked George Lucas to talk about the vision of the museum's design. Lucas says that early on he actually wanted to be an architect until he realized there'd be a lot of math involved.
He's talking about how "stories" makes one feel connection to people, and perhaps help one feel better about the unknowns about life. He says: "Humans think they know everything, even though they don't know anything."
Del Toro adds that he and Lucas are both collectors but in his mind he says "I don't own anything", but a brief holder of things that can live on after us. And hopes to share his collection with the world while it's in his possession to do so.
The panel ended at 12 p.m. without any audience questions, nor a date for the opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts. However, it was such a solid first introduction to the upcoming Los Angeles attraction, and we can't wait to see it. That's a wrap on SDCC 2025, and what an epic way to do so.
