George Lucas has selected Chicago to build his 'Star Wars' museum and movie memorabilia, slated to open in 2018.
Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel confirmed the news but he did not have any immediate details about the decision made by the filmmaker.
The selection was somewhat of a surprise, given Lucas' close ties to San Francisco and California, reported Chicago-Sun Times.
The city's lakefront museum campus will house the new $1 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on a 17-acre site located on parking lots between Soldier Field and McCormick Place.
"I am humbled to be joining such an extraordinary museum community and to be creating the Museum in a city that has a long tradition of embracing the arts and architecture," Lucas said in a statement.
