Media and Music: How The Star Wars Score Unites 40 Years of Films

John Williams’ iconic themes have scored the main films of the “Star Wars” universe for over four decades — and their legacy is timeless.

In Media and Music, our writers take a deep dive into how movies use scores and songs to engage viewers, give new meaning and tone to some of our favorite scenes, and establish themes. It almost goes without saying, but there are spoilers abound.

Written by Minnah Zaheer

“Joker” composer Hildur Guðnadóttir made history at the 2020 Academy Awards when she won the Oscar for Best Score, making her the first female composer to win the award since 1997. But Guðnadóttir’s win also marked the end of an era for composer John Williams, who announced in 2018 that the score “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” would be his last “Star Wars” film score. Williams, who has scored every main Star Wars movie since 1977’s “Star Wars: A New Hope,” has won five Oscars (including one for the score for the first “Star Wars” film) and 52 nominations (only Walt Disney himself was nominated for more).

Thanks in no small part to Williams’ brilliant mind, the “Star Wars” universe’s musical themes are some of the most well-known of all time. At the beginning of all nine main saga movies, shortly after the iconic “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” timestamp, a loud blast of triumphant horns immediately welcomes the audience into the space-cowboy universe of the upcoming movie. Punctuated with resounding percussion and rousing brass instruments, the opening number plunges you directly into what the “Star Wars” universe is all about: adventure, hope, and excitement.

Every “Star Wars” opening crawl, which audiences read as an introduction to the film’s events, is supplemented with Williams’ opening score. Rather than getting old and tiresome, hearing the theme nine times over the course of all the movies creates a feeling of familiarity, like you’re at home. No matter how good or bad the movie may end up being, the “Main Title” is there to remind audiences about what we all love about the “Star Wars” saga — its heart.

Another timeless theme by Williams is “The Imperial March,” introduced in 1980’s “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.” One of the most recognizable villains in film history, Darth Vader has an aptly titled theme that the series uses as a leitmotif to indicate the character’s presence. It takes many of the same approaches to its instrumentation as the main theme — it primarily consists of horns and demanding percussion — but the melody and heavy drum line imbue a sense of militarism into the minds of the audience.

Even in 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the theme is so representative of Vader that it underscores a brief moment when Kylo Ren, the primary antagonist of the sequel trilogy, speaks wistfully to Vader’s mask. The moment emphasizes the importance of the figure nearly four decades later and long after his death in “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.”

From the aforementioned “Main Title” and “Imperial March” to the cheerful and perfectly silly “Cantina Theme” and the beautiful string composition of “Leia’s Theme” that perfectly encapsulates the character’s sharp wit and heart of gold, Williams created a series of incredibly identifiable themes in the original trilogy. His most iconic composition from the prequel trilogy, “Duel of the Fates,” has become an unofficial main theme of the prequels and features heavy chanting and a rapid-fire melody. But perhaps the best proof of Williams everlasting talent, aside from his Oscar nominations spanning six decades, is his continued ability to create new themes.

When the audience first sees Rey, the main protagonist of “The Force Awakens,” her face is completely obscured from view — goggles and a scarf around her head and mouth make it impossible for anyone to see who she is. When she eventually shows her face, a xylophone and flute begin to play the inquisitive “Rey’s Theme” as she speeds through a desert planet. The full theme, which starts off with a simple delicate and isolated flute melody, rises into a perfect harmony between strings, horns, and woodwind instruments that all coalesce to paint an image of a character with great conflict, great adventure, and great power in her future. Williams’ ability to create such a resounding theme after being a cornerstone of the “Star Wars” legacy for so long is just another testament to his unending talent.

With his departure from the franchise, it remains unknown what future “Star Wars” films will sound like. Other composers have scored spinoff films in the franchise, including Michael Giacchino and John Powell, but neither with nearly as much success as Williams. But Ludwig Göransson, the Oscar-winning composer for Black Panther, may have the right idea in taking a completely different approach to Star Wars music. Göransson is the primary composer for the Disney+ spinoff show “The Mandalorian,” which is a hit among fans and critics alike. His scores, however, are much more synth-based and tech-heavy than anything Williams has ever done, for “Star Wars” or otherwise.

The show’s main credits theme is perhaps the most representative track of Göransson’s approach. Its brilliance rests in its fusion of percussion, brass instruments, and strings — just like in Williams’ scores — with heavy electric guitar and synth sounds adding a more modern touch. The result is something truly magical: it’s industrial yet personal, macho yet delicate, harsh but captivating. It perfectly encapsulates the two defining traits of the Mandalorian: his internal belief in doing the right thing shrouded in an indifferent and steely facade. And it doesn’t hurt that “The Mandalorian” also features an adorable yet fortified theme composed by Göransson titled “The Baby,” after the well-loved (and technically inaccurately named) Baby Yoda. A twinkling bridge concludes in a dramatic and triumphant rendition of the main theme.

While the impact of his overall career will last forever, Williams’ last opportunity to win another Oscar for his contributions to the “Star Wars” universe is now over. The future of “Star Wars” music is in new hands, for better or worse, and Williams has definitely made his mark in a way that will be difficult to top. But if new composers combine what works about the original score with their own innovation and enthusiasm, they’ll be able to establish their own legacies.

ANALYSISAfterglow ATXFebruary 25, 2020