If there is one thing that is universally loved across all six of the previous Star Wars films, it is this: John Williams' phenomenal score. Say what you will about how terrible the prequels are (and I could say plenty) but the one guy who did not drop the ball in that trilogy was Williams. The music is just as good in those movies as it is in the original film, for which Williams won an Oscar. Now we have the briefest of glimpses at Williams conducting the score for The Force Awakens and it’s music to our ears.
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The music sounds exactly as you would want it to. You can hear the original themes that Williams created over 30 years ago but they’re embedded in what is obviously new music. It’s a combination of the new and the old, which is exactly what most fans are hoping they get from the film as a whole. Williams has been the composer for many of the most popular movies ever made. He also has five Academy Awards. He’s been nominated an absolutely phenomenal 49 times. Only Walt Disney has received more nominations.
The highlight of the short clip from CBS News, however, is watching director J.J. Abrams taking pictures of the scoring session the way any other fan would if they were in the room. He’s working with Williams to perfect the score, while also just enjoying the fact that he’s there. The music is obviously important to Abrams. He collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer of the hit musical Hamilton, on the one piece of music in the film not written by Williams.
We can likely say, with confidence, that the music in this movie will be great, even if something awful happens and the rest of the movie goes off the deep end. While The Phantom Menace is viewed by most as the lowest point in the Star Wars saga (it’s actually Attack of the Clones) there’s no denying that Duel of the Fates, the music from the movie’s climactic lightsaber battle, is one of Williams greatest pieces of music in the entire series. Even in a bad movie the composer’s work shines through. There’s no reason to believe this will be any different.
After those immortal words "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…" fade from the screen, we will all get to hear John Williams' immortal score once again. How much are you looking forward to hearing those familiar themes again? How much are you looking forward to hearing something new?
