As anticipation builds for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s December release, one thing is all but guaranteed: the music will be something to remember. Legendary composer John Williams has been a mainstay with the franchise since it began in 1977. Williams has indicated that this will be his last time scoring a Star Wars film. Fortunately, it sounds like he plans to go out on a high note.
The Academy of Scoring Arts recently hosted a panel that included Williams’ brother, Don Williams, a studio percussionist who has performed on several of his brother’s scores. Don Williams is also playing on The Rise of Skywalker‘s soundtrack, and he offered a tease of what fans can expect to hear as the Skywalker saga comes to a close.
“It is top to bottom music,” said Don Williams. “We’ve done four days and we just scratched the surface. I think we’ve got something like 34 minutes in the canon at this point, but I can tell you that every theme that you ever heard is gonna be compiled into this last effort.”
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Williams specifically mentioned that moviegoers will hear themes relating to Yoda and Leia, as well as “the Phantom” and “Darth.” Obviously, “Darth” could refer to any of the Sith Lords who have appeared across the series’ nine installments. But hearing Williams name-drop “the Phantom” is far more intriguing. It almost certainly refers to The Phantom Menace, which means we might be hearing a new version of the fan-favorite “Duel of the Fates” in the new film.
“It’s gonna be in there and in his usual style,” continued Don Williams. “He hides them. You gotta go look for them. You’ll find them, but you gotta go look for them. You’ll be sitting there watching the film go by and, oh, there it is! There’s two bars of it and it grabs you and takes you away.”
You can hear Williams’ remarks for yourself below. Which Star Wars themes are you most excited to hear again in The Rise of Skywalker? Tell us what you think in the comment section!
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