Few movies have musical accompaniment as iconic as the original scores for the Star Wars films. Legendary composer John Williams has remained a constant figure within the franchise for the last forty years, and his work has become instantly recognizable. That being said, a time must come when all masters must step down from his or her craft. Has John Williams decided to give up on scoring Star Wars films? As it turns out, while he hasn't committed to the project, he’s not quite ready to let someone else take the reigns just yet.
According to Making Star Wars, John Williams spoke out about his potential involvement in Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII during a recent event in Philadelphia:
I told the producers I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do the next one, but told them I didn’t want anyone else doing it either.
Although he doesn’t provide a concrete, definitive answer, it’s abundantly clear that John Willliams still has some interest in returning to the galaxy far, far away. He hasn’t decided whether or not he wants to commit to another Star Wars movie, but he also has no interest in seeing someone else fill his place. That’s a difficult position for any artist to find himself in, but we will keep our fingers crossed that Williams’ desire to work in the Star Wars universe eventually wins out.
John Williams is arguably one of the people who has had the biggest impact on the Star Wars films. He has had a hand in every single Star Wars movie to date, and his work as a composer even managed to elevate some of the notably duller scenes in the prequels. His work isn’t limited to the Star Wars universe either; over the years he has had a hand in creation of some amazing themes, from Jurassic Park to the Indiana Jones franchise.
That being said, we will have to get used to the notion of John Williams not scoring every Star Wars movie set to hit theaters in the coming years. Aside from the fact that he’s getting older, Disney has so many Star Wars films set to enter production before the end of the decade that it would likely prove impossible for him to personally score all of them. We already know that he has handed off the duties of scoring Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to Alexandre Desplat, so we fully expect that particular film to have a much different feeling than the ones scored by Williams.
All it takes is one note to know that you’re listening to a John Williams track. Just listen to "Binary Sunset" in this iconic scene from A New Hope to instantly be taken to the desert world of Tattooine:
We will keep you posted regarding John Williams’ potential involvement in Star Wars: Episode VIII as more information becomes available to us. Production on the upcoming sequel is currently underway, and the film will hit theaters on December 15, 2017.
