It would be a gross understatement to say that Star Wars fans are some of the most vocal of any within the realm of pop culture. While there are many fans who are respectfully passionate about their love of the galaxy far, far way, others can be somewhat toxic and hard to please. This leads to a number of disagreements and debates among aficionados. However, The Mandalorian’s Jon Favreau believes there is one aspect of Star Wars they can agree on.
When it comes to Star Wars, Jon Favreau sees the music as the one element that all fans love, despite their differing opinions on storylines or dialogue:
Everybody has different opinions about which movies they like better or characters or lines of dialogue or storylines. Everybody who loves Star Wars, they may have their opinions about the specificities of it, but everybody is in agreement that the music is iconic and perfect.
Jon Favreau voiced these thoughts during the most recent episode of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian and went on to say that, music-wise, his biggest goal with the series was to avoid coasting off the familiar sounds that fans already love:
And I think our biggest goal is to not feel like we were just repeating or drawing upon what had come before as a shortcut to get through to the audience.
Favreau definitely isn’t wrong in his assessment. Almost any Star Wars fan can remember the first time they heard John Williams’ iconic score as the opening crawl appeared on screen. Honestly, how can one not get chills when Luke Skywalker looks off into the distance on the planet Tatooine or when the Imperial March plays during a Darth Vader scene?
John Williams, whose resume you’re likely more than familiar with, set a gold standard for music in blockbusters with his work in Star Wars. The celebrated composer has scored nearly all of the Star Wars films, and his influence has even been felt on the projects that he hasn’t actually worked on.
But as Jon Favreau mentioned, he and his collaborators opted to go in a new direction for The Mandalorian. Favreau recruited Ludwig Göransson, the Oscar-winning composer of Black Panther, to add something new to the franchise, which he did. While Göransson’s score has the sense of grandness that Williams’ does, it’s also a bit more subtle and personal. This has proved to be effective, as the music of the show has been generally well received by critics and fans up to this point.
Star Wars fans will certainly continue to have their “spirited debates” about what they think does and doesn’t work within the franchise. Still, it’s good to know they can at least bond over their love of the music.
Both The Mandalorian Season 1 and Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian are now streaming on Disney+.
