On October 26, 2016, San Francisco and Los Angeles announced the latest site selection for the George Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, the "Father of Star Wars." The design for the two proposed sites was also unveiled, led by Ma Yansong and his firm MAD.

In July 2014, MAD won the international design competition for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, originally slated for Chicago, becoming the architect for this world-class museum. As a result, Ma Yansong became the architect to design a major cultural landmark overseas. Renowned architect Frank Gehry publicly supported the museum's design in an article for the Chicago Tribune. However, in 2015, due to opposition from local organizations regarding the museum's location in Chicago's Lakefront Park, the project faced significant delays. In June of the following year, the Lucas Museum announced it would withdraw from Chicago, forcing MAD to abandon its design, which had already reached the深化阶段 (refinement stage). Chicago's Mayor Rahm Emanuel expressed his regret, stating, "It's unfortunate that Chicago lost the opportunity to host this world-class cultural institution. Chicago's loss will be another city's gain."

Due to Ma Yansong's design talent and the international-level professionalism and experience demonstrated by the MAD design team during the past two years of collaboration on the museum, the museum has decided to continue working with MAD and directly commission them to design for two new sites.

The museum’s building area is approximately 24,600 – 25,550 square meters (265,000 – 275,000 square feet). MAD’s designs for these two cities are inspired by the unique characteristics of each location’s city, culture, and environment. These new designs are distinctly different from the original Chicago design, but both still embody a beautiful vision of the encounter between people and nature in architecture, as well as an optimistic outlook on the future of cities.

The San Francisco site is located on the famous "Treasure Island," with views of the San Francisco cityscape, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Bay Bridge. Ma Yansong described the site as having a somewhat surreal feeling, where the cityscape across the bay is perfectly separated, allowing for an experience of looking from one shore to the other. "People sitting on the museum's landscape slope, looking at the city across the bay, might feel something entirely different," he said. John King, architecture critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, described Ma Yansong’s design for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art as "floating like a cloud, with a very futuristic feel." A spokesperson for the city of San Francisco said, "Mayor Ed Lee has always believed that San Francisco is the best location for LMNA. The mayor and the board of supervisors are working closely with the museum team to ensure that Lucas’ world-class collection will ultimately find its home on Treasure Island."

The Los Angeles site is located in the city's central "Exposition Park," a renowned cultural area that hosts several landmark buildings, including the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. Christopher Hawthorne, the architecture critic for the Los Angeles Times, praised Ma Yansong's designs for both sites, noting their fluidity and cutting-edge style. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti expressed, "Choosing Los Angeles for LMNA will be the right decision. Every year, millions of tourists visit Los Angeles, and the presence of numerous art institutions, such as The Broad, Getty Center, MOCA, and LACMA, further proves that Los Angeles truly deserves its place as the world’s art capital."

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is a nonprofit institution dedicated to providing a unique global experience related to the development of visual storytelling, art, and moving images. The museum will showcase a range of original works by both renowned and emerging artists, cutting-edge digital technologies, and diverse film presentations. Additionally, it will offer exceptional educational opportunities for students of all ages.

San Francisco and Los Angeles will continue to compete and discuss, with the final decision on the museum's location expected to be made in a few months.