George Lucas stepped out for his very first appearance at San Diego Comic-Con on Sunday (July 27) in San Diego, Calif.

The 81-year-old legendary Star Wars filmmaker has had many projects at the annual event, but he himself has not appeared until now!

George was on hand for his panel, “Sneak Peek: Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art,” with Guillermo del Toro and Doug Chiang, as well as moderator Queen Latifah.

The filmmaker’s panel was held to tease his upcoming Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is set to open next year near the LA Memorial Coliseum.

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“I’ve been doing this for 50 years now, and then it occurred to me that I don’t know what I am going to do with [all the art] because I refuse to sell it,” George said at the panel, via Variety. “Art is more about an emotional connection. Not how much it cost, or what celebrity made it. If you have an emotional connection, then it’s art. I’ve worked with hundreds of illustrators in my life, and they’re all brilliant, but they don’t get recognized for anything. This museum is a temple to the people.”

“It’s one thing that this kind of art [featured] will celebrate because of science fiction. Science fiction is a myth, but we have made it real,” George added of the science fiction artwork that will be displayed at the museum. “Humans made it real because of science fiction books and art that makes people say, ‘Oh, we could go to the moon,’ and once that idea is implemented, then we believe we could do it.”

Speaking of Star Wars, this A-list actor is set to join the franchise for a new movie!

Browse through the gallery for more photos of George Lucas’ first Comic-Con appearance…