J.J. Abrams Says John Williams Will Score Star Wars: Episode VII

Team Star Trek Into Darkness has been making the global rounds helping to promote the sequel, stopping in such places as Australia and Germany as they prep for the London press junket that’s happening this weekend. And even though J.J. Abrams is fielding a ton of Trek questions, he’s deflecting an equal amount of Star Wars: Episode VII questions, refusing to give up any information … until now.

During a Berlin press conference captured on TrekMovie.com, which you can watch above (if you don’t mind the cast talking at length about a sequel you might not have seen yet), Abrams reveals – right around the seven-minute mark – that he plans to bring composer John Williams back into the fold for Star Wars, instead of his longtime collaborator Michael Giacchino. Abrams raved about Giacchino’s brilliance, and rightfully so. But the director confirms that Williams will be scoring the eventual Star Wars sequel “because apparently he was there long before I was.”

That’s funny, but also a little bittersweet. Part of me really wanted to see what Giacchino could bring to a fresh Star Wars universe. It’s similar to a story we ran earlier about Hans Zimmer getting a crack at Man of Steel, trying to distance the imagery of Superman from Williams’ admittedly iconic score.

At the same time, Wiliams and Star Wars go hand in hand, and if he’s willing to come back to score Episode VII, then I understand why Abrams would welcome him with open arms (though the way he presents it, it almost makes it sounds like this is something he was told was going to happen, whether he wanted it or not). So yes, it sounds like Williams is on board for Star Wars. Good news? Share your thoughts, and enjoy this clip of Williams performing the main Star Wars theme with the Boston Pops:

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.