The first trailer forThe Rise of Skywalkerpremiered last month and John Williams has been working on the score. The legendaryStar Warscomposer says he is, “very happy” with the footage he has seen so far. And if anyone knows anything about the franchise, it’s the man who has been giving it the emotional pulls and pushes through the music over the past 40+ years. Williams is responsible for the chills many hardcore fans get when they arrive to theaters to see each and every new installment.
So far,John Williamshas composed about 25 minutes of new music forThe Rise of Skywalkerand he is quite pleased with what J.J. Abrams has brought to the table this time around. Since we’re going to be witnessing the final movie of the Skywalker saga, one would imagine we could end up hearing more than a few familiar motifs from past installments. The first trailer gives us an epic take on “Leia’s Theme,” which originally debuted inA New Hopeand has gone through several changes over the years.
John Williams has been with theStar Warsfranchise since the beginning, butThe Rise of Skywalkerwill more than likely be his last time working withLucasfilm. Williams revealed last year that since this movie is closing out nine movies, he’s had enough. Most recently, he contributed music toStar Wars: Galaxy’s Edgefor the Disneyland and Disney World theme parks. As fans walk into the new area of the park, starting later this month in California, they will be treated to new music from the 87-year old Williams.
As far as composing music for all of this time, John Williams doesn’t feel like he’s gotten any better over the years. “I don’t write any better than I did thirty years ago,” he recently said. “Maybe not as well. I probably know more than I did thirty years ago,” Williams continues, “but I have less physical energy.” That’s certainly understandable at 87-years old. With that being said,Williams' stamp on the Star Wars universewill be here long after we’re all gone and will continue to be used in the future as the franchise continues with characters outside of the Skywalker saga.
The Rise of Skywalkerhits theaters at the end of this year, so J.J. Abrams still has plenty of time to make the necessary tweaks and the same can be said for John Williams. It’s going to be very interesting to see the choices the composer went with this time around tocompliment the finality of it all. It’s remarkable how much work Williams has contributed to theStar Warsuniverse and the entertainment industry as a whole during the course of his lengthy career. The interview with John Williams was originally conducted byThe Times U.K.
