‘Star Wars’ exhibit brings CSUMB alumni together

By Mark Muckenfuss

Two Cal State Monterey Bay alumni are living part of a fantasy. 

Lucas Seastrom is a public relations writer and historian for Lucasfilm, the company responsible for the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises. He spends his days surrounded by the mythical stories and characters that seized his imagination as a kid. Currently, he is helping to curate an in-house exhibit at the company’s headquarters that will include two important artifacts contributed by fellow CSUMB alumnus and historian Jordan Leininger.

Leininger’s artifacts are Lego models of “Star Wars” spaceships, among the first to be issued in 1999. Now, the ships he constructed as a teenager, awed by the space adventures George Lucas created, are landing temporarily at the center of that universe. It seems a bit surreal, he said, but also exciting.  

At CSUMB, Seastrom (class of 2015) majored in cinematic arts and technology, while Leininger (class of 2018) majored in social and behavioral science. They didn’t meet until 2022, when Seastrom was a docent at the Pacific Biological Laboratories museum and Leininger a curator there. Among other things, they shared a mutual love of history and of all things “Star Wars.” 

Leininger now works for CSUMB as a special consultant for the California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. He is tasked with cataloging and returning native materials from CSUMB’s collection to local tribes.

Seastrom went on to earn a master’s degree in cinema at San Francisco State, going to work for Lucasfilm while he was still a student there. These days he catalogues and writes stories about the company’s history. His knowledge of film has been invaluable in his work, he said.

“The film program at CSUMB was really my foundation for the nuts and bolts of how movies are made,” Seastrom said. “It was a very maker-oriented program. With the bigger, more established programs, you’ll often spend the first two years in the classroom. At CSUMB, the first week, they were putting cameras in our hands. I really appreciated the ability to get out in the field and make films.

CSUMB alumni Jordan Leininger, left, and Lucas Seastrom collaborated on a commemorative exhibit at Lucasfilm headquarters in San Francisco.

“I’m still involved in making documentaries,” he added. “For a number of years now, I’ve been working on a feature-length documentary with other CSUMB alumni about the Firehouse Five Plus Two, a jazz band of Disney animators. I work on documentary film projects at Lucasfilm as well.”

With the 25th anniversary of “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” approaching, Seastrom said he and a colleague decided to take advantage of a new display case at the entrance of the headquarters and create a celebratory exhibit. The display is an in-house affair and not open to the general public.

“It’s a mix of items from the company archive and our personal collections. There are dozens of posters, large-scale statues, toys, books, comics and video games,” Seastrom said. “It will be very busy and a huge smattering of objects.” 

Leininger says he got a call shortly after he visited Lucasfilm at Seastrom’s invitation. His friend had given him a tour of the facility and they chatted about their work. 

“I said it jokingly, like how cool would it be to do an exhibit there?” Leininger said. “And a week later, he called me.”

“I thought it would be a fun opportunity to collaborate with Jordan,” Seastrom said. “He’s loaning us two of his original Lego vehicles. We said, ‘Why don’t you come up and lend us a hand with the installation?’”

The two ships Seastrom was interested in – young Anakin Skywalker’s Naboo starfighter and an X-wing fighter – are the only Lego models on display in Leininger’s home. They help decorate his garage bar. 

“I remember, in 1999, when they announced the “Star Wars” Legos and I was like, ‘Yes!’” he recalls. “I had no idea mine would one day go on display at Lucasfilm.”

The exhibit also marks the 25th anniversary of the partnership between Lucasfilm and Lego, the latter company’s first license, which helped it establish a continued foothold in the toy market. 

As for Seastrom, he said he’s thankful for his partnership with CSUMB as a student. 

“I was one of those high school seniors who didn’t know what I wanted to do,” he said, adding that he picked CSUMB almost at random. “I got really lucky that the stars aligned. Coming to the Monterey region was transformational.”

One might say that somehow the Force was with him.