In terms of behind-the-scenes talent, composer John Williams remains one of the few constants in each and every Skywalker saga Star Wars film. From A New Hope to The Force Awakens, Williams has left viewers humming his themes long after they’ve left the theater for nearly four decades, and he’s not looking to stop yet.
It’s no secret that Williams is returning to score this year’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, as previous updates confirmed that he was well into the writing process, but according to a tweet from producer Robert Meyer Burnett, he’s already begun conducting.
Burnett first tweeted about a Last Jedi scoring session that took place in Los Angeles yesterday and then followed it up a few hours later by claiming that Williams was, in fact, orchestrating and director Rian Johnson “wants to use the score for editing.” Check out the tweets below…
There was a LAST JEDI scoring session in LA today. That's encouraging.
— Robert Meyer Burnett, Viceroy of Verisimilitude (@RMBee) February 12, 2017
LAST JEDI scoring update. Last Thursday was John Williams' 85th Birthday. He's conducting. Rian Johnson wants to use the score for editing.
— Robert Meyer Burnett, Viceroy of Verisimilitude (@RMBee) February 12, 2017
While Johnson has been in post-production on The Last Jedi for a number of months, it’s good to know that he’ll soon be able to edit with the film’s official score (or a version of it), instead of using a temp score, or an existing piece of music that is replaced before the final cut and used to assist with editing.
Additionally, if Williams’ previous comments are still true, he’ll be hard at work on the score for at least another month, perhaps even two.
For fans of the legendary composer, we here at Flickering Myth celebrated his 85th birthday by choosing some of our favorite scores of his, so be sure to check out the piece!
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is set for release on December 15th 2017 and sees returning cast members Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma), Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke), Peter Mayhew and Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), Tim Rose (Admiral Ackbar), Mike Quinn (Nien Nunb), Simon Pegg (Unkar Plutt), and Warwick Davis joined by new additions Benicio Del Toro (Guardians of the Galaxy), Laura Dern (Jurassic Park), Kelly Marie Tran (Ladies Like Us) and Jimmy Vee (Pan) as R2-D2.
Originally published February 12, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
