Chicago will house the official museum of all things George Lucas and Star Wars.

A widely-reported statement from Lucas says the director is sad the museum won't be located in his home state of California – San Francisco and Los Angeles also entered bids – but that Chicago is simply a better site. The Chicago Tribune reports the city's superior qualities include tourist numbers nearly triple San Francisco's count.

The new institution will be called “The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art” and will offer a collection mixing Star Wars memorabilia and other artefacts from Lucas' collections. The Tribune says the director's private collection includes Norman Rockwell paintings,many artefacts that illustrate the history of story-telling plus gadgetry developed at special effects house Industrial Light and Magic to create on-screen images in Lucas' and other director's films.

As the museum's name suggests, the exhibits are expected to explain story-telling rather than focussing on Star Wars alone.

Chicago authorities still need to sign off on design and land use matters, but local media says the city's Mayor has confirmed reports the museum will come to The Windy City. Opening day is expected to take place in 2018. Those planning a visit will doubtless try to make the Chicago run in under 12 parsecs. ®