This summer has been an exciting one for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home wrapping up Phase Three in an exciting way. But another Disney property will be dominating pop culture this winter: Star Wars. J.J. Abrams' The Rise of Skywalker will arrive this coming December, and one of the composers recently teased Episode IX's runtime.
The great John Williams is known for writing Star Wars' stunning score, and his brother drummer Don Williams has been around for all of the adventures in the galaxy far, far away. Don Williams recently spoke to the work being done on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and let slip how much music needs to be written for the upcoming blockbuster. He said:
John’s started up on another Star Wars. He started last week, he’s got 135 minutes worth of music to write. So that kind of tells you how long the film is. It is top to bottom music.
Well, this is exciting. J.J. Abrams has a ton of story to cover throughout The Rise of Skywalker, so its good to hear that he's taking the appropriate time with the upcoming blockbuster. The upcoming blockbuster must wrap up the current trilogy, as well as the Skywalker Saga as a whole. So it shouldn't be a rushed experience.
Don Williams' comments are sure to get the generations of Star Wars fans excited about J.J. Abrams' upcoming blockbuster. Abrams kickstarted the property back up with The Force Awakens, bringing a set of new characters and conflicts to interact with franchise favorites like Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Leia Organa. That vision can be completed with The Rise of Skywalker. although just what Abrams has in store for moviegoers is a complete mystery at this point.
Related: Fans Will Be 'Very Satisfied' With Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Daisy Ridley Says
Later in his conversation with Scoring Arts, Don Williams revealed that all the iconic Star Wars musical themes would be present in the Episode IX. Although we might have to keep an ear out for them. As he put it:
I can tell you that every theme you ever heard is gonna be compiled into this last effort. Leia, Yoda, the Phantom, Darth, all of it is gonna be in there. In his usual style he hides them, you gotta go look for them. You'll fine them, but you have to go look for them. And you'll be sitting there watching the film go by and there it is. There's two bars of it and it grabs you and takes you away.
Does anyone else have chills? Star Wars movies have always contained epic and iconic music, with various characters getting their own distinct musical themes throughout the decades of filmmaking. And each of those musical moments will reportedly be in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. But the generations of fans are going to have to pay attention to catch them all.
You can see Don Williams' full comments about Episode IX below.
With The Rise of Skywalker hitting theaters in a matter of months, so the post-production process is likely going at full force. This includes John Williams' score, as well as the visual effects and editing process. The pressure is truly on to deliver, as the past eight movies have all led up to this moment.
All will be revealed when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
