Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi is getting a theme courtesy of legendary Star Wars composer John Williams.
As reported by Variety, Williams has written the musical signature for Obi-Wan Kenobi, which stars franchise veteran Ewan McGregor's version of the eponymous Jedi Master. Sources say Williams "recorded last week with a Los Angeles orchestra under tight security." Obi-Wan Kenobi marks Williams' first Star Wars project since the feature film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which hit theaters in late 2019.
Williams, of course, composed all nine films in the Star Wars franchise's main "Skywalker Saga": Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and the aforementioned Rise of Skywalker (2019).
That being said, Williams' involvement in Obi-Wan Kenobi is sure to come as a surprise to some fans, as the venerable composer isn't particularly known for working on Star Wars spinoff projects, barring a few exceptions. For example, Williams did compose a single song, "The Adventures of Han," for the anthology film Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), though the rest of the film was scored by John Powell. Williams also created the theme for Disney's Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge theme park attraction in mid 2019.
However, the anthology film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) was composed entirely by Michael Giacchino (though its score took heavy inspiration from Williams' prior work). As for Disney+'s previous two live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian is composed by Ludwig Göransson and The Book of Boba Fett was composed by Joseph Shirley, with Göransson doing the theme music. Meanwhile, the Rogue One prequel series Andor, which will hit Disney+ sometime after Obi-Wan Kenobi, has found its own composer in Nicholas Britell.
The aforementioned McGregor starred as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy from 1999 to 2005. Obi-Wan, also known as Ben Kenobi, was previously portrayed by Alec Guinness in the original Star Wars trilogy from 1977 to 1983. Set between the events of 2005's Revenge of the Sith and 1977's Star Wars, Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi will serve to bridge the gap between these two versions of the character. The series is set to premiere on May 25, the very same day the original Star Wars hit theaters 45 years ago.
In addition to McGregor, Obi-Wan Kenobi sees fellow Prequel Trilogy star Hayden Christensen reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. (He is expected to return for Disney+'s Rosario Dawson-led Star Wars series Ahsoka as well.) Moreover, Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse are set to reprise their roles as Owen and Beru Lars, respectively. The series also stars Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Sung Kang, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Simone Kessell, Benny Safdie, Maya Erskine and Rory Ross.
Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres Wednesday, May 25 on Disney+.
Source: Variety