Lucas Jones is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Introduced in 1989, the character has been portrayed by 13 actors. Twins Kevin and Chuckie Gravino appeared in the role from 1989 to 1994, with Kevin and Christopher Graves pinch-hitting in 1990. Jay Sacane portrayed the role from 1994 to 1996, with Justin Cooper (1996–1998) and Logan O'Brien (1998–2002) acting as his successors in the role. Following O'Brien's exit, the character was rapidly aged when Evan Bonifant assumed the role and was quickly replaced after two-months by C.J. Thomason, who exited in 2003. In 2004, the character was re-introduced by Ryan Carnes, who departed the following year and was replaced by Ben Hogestyn. Hogestyn left the role in 2006. In 2013, Carnes reprised the role when Lucas returned to Port Charles. Carnes made an unannounced exit from the role in March 2020; Matt Trudeau assumed the role in November of the same year, and exited in March 2021. Carnes reprised the role a third time when Lucas returned in January 2024 following the death of Bobbie Spencer; later that year, in October, Van Hansis assumed the role when Lucas returned to Port Charles after living in Boston.

Lucas is the adopted son of Dr. Tony Jones and his ex-wife, Bobbie Spencer, the biological son of crime lord Julian Jerome, and Cheryl Stansbury. As an infant, Lucas is at the center of a bitter custody battle between former friends, Bobbie and Tiffany Hill, Cheryl's sister. Under head writer, Robert Guza, Lucas is very close with his adoptive cousins, Maxie and Georgie Jones. In 2005, Lucas became the first character in General Hospital history to earn his Ph.D. After Tony's death in early 2006, the character was written out of the series. In 2013, Lucas became a subject of conversation again when it was revealed that Julian was actually alive, and Lucas is contacted by his new-found sister Sam for a DNA test.

The role was briefly played by Nicholas Moody in 1989 upon the character's onscreen birth. The role was portrayed by siblings Kenny and Chuckie Gravino from 1992 to 1994. The Gravino siblings had previously appeared on The Young and the Restless as Phillip Chancellor IV. Jay Sacane appeared in the role from 1994 to 1996. Justin Cooper took over the role from 1996 to 1998. Logan O'Brien stepped into the role in August 1998, leaving the series in 2002. Evan Bonifant stepped into the role on September 6, 2002, when the character was rapidly aged. Bonifant made his final appearance on December 18 and was quickly replaced by C.J. Thomason. Thomason made his debut on December 24, 2002, making his final appearance on June 11, 2003.

In 2004, the role was recast and Ryan Carnes stepped into the role. Ryan Carnes first auditioned for the role in May 2004. Carnes auditioned for a third time on June 2, 2004, and filmed his first scenes on June 16. At the time, Carnes was on vacation in Hawaii when he was called back to California for his final audition. However, his car broke down on the way to his audition. Fortunately, he was able to get a ride with his acting coach. After the audition, Carnes returned to his car and was forced wait another three hours to have his car towed. During his wait, Carnes learned he had booked the recurring role of Lucas with his first air date slated for July 8, 2004.

In 2005, it was announced Carnes would depart the series and would be replaced by Ben Hogestyn, just before Lucas revealed his sexuality. According to TV Guide, Carnes was allegedly fearful of being typecast in gay roles, due to his previous work on television series, Desperate Housewives and the film Eating Out. A representative for the actor claimed Carnes had already planned to leave the series due several upcoming gigs, but chose to vacate the role earlier before the series delved into Lucas's storyline instead of having the role recast in the middle of the story. Carnes last appeared on September 21, and Hogestyn stepped into the role on September 22. Hogestyn, who was only with the show on a recurring status, left in 2006 to pursue a full-time role on The Bold and the Beautiful. According to then-writer Dave Goldschmid, the role was supposed to be recast at some point, but the recast never happened.

Starting on December 4, 2013, through Twitter, Carnes began referencing various locations with the word "Port" in the names. In December 2013, executive producer, Frank Valentini announced to Soaps In Depth that Carnes would reprise the role of Lucas. Following the announcement, Carnes updated his Twitter with the simple message: "Ah, Port Charles, it is!" Carnes filmed his first return scenes on December 11, 2013. His first episode was slated for January 16, 2014, but was pushed back to the following day, due to news coverage. In response to bringing Carnes back to the role, Valentini said it was important to maintain continuity of who had previously played Lucas. Valentini contacted Carnes after casting director Mark Teschner sent him Carnes' audition reel. Head writer, Ron Carlivati said he was the most familiar face, and he also shared a resemblance to William DeVry, who played Julian, "and it just made sense." Carnes said he was quite shocked by the offer to reprise the role. A friend of the actor, who was also a fan of the serial, saw the onscreen events on unfolding and told Carnes that he expected Lucas coming back to the canvas. The casting department contacted Carnes' agent by email and asked if he was interested.

In November 2020, Matt Trudeau assumed the role, following Carnes' exit in March. Trudeau last appeared on March 24, 2021. In December 2023, it was announced Carnes would return to facilitate the memorial of Bobbie Spencer. He appeared on January 10 to 11, 2024.

In September 2024, TV Insider reported the role had been recast with Van Hansis. He made his first episode appearance on October 4 of the same year.