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Posted: |
Jul 27, 2018 - 3:59 PM
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By: |
Wedge
(Member)
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Apologies for starting a new thread if one was not warranted, but I couldn't find one dedicated to STAR WARS: EPISODE IX. Williams' involvement has long been presumed from interviews and other comments, but today Disney made it official:
https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-episode-ix-cast-announced
Star Wars: Episode IX will begin filming at London’s Pinewood Studios on August 1, 2018. J.J. Abrams returns to direct the final installment of the Skywalker saga. Abrams co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Terrio.
Returning cast members include Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd. Joining the cast of Episode IX are Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, and Keri Russell, who will be joined by veteran Star Wars actors Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams, who will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian.
The role of Leia Organa will once again be played by Carrie Fisher, using previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. “We desperately loved Carrie Fisher,” says Abrams. “Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII.”
Composer John Williams, who has scored every chapter in the Star Wars saga since 1977’s A New Hope, will return to a galaxy far, far away with Episode IX.
Star Wars: Episode IX will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Michelle Rejwan, and executive produced by Callum Greene and Jason McGatlin. The crew includes Dan Mindel (Director of Photography), Rick Carter and Kevin Jenkins (Co-Production Designers), Michael Kaplan (Costume Designer), Neal Scanlan (Creature and Droid FX), Maryann Brandon and Stefan Grube (Editors), Roger Guyett (VFX Supervisor), Tommy Gormley (1st AD), and Victoria Mahoney (2nd Unit Director).
Release is scheduled for December 2019.
Sounds like we can probably expect at least one more return of Leia's theme...
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What I'm most curious about is what thematic material Williams is going to apply to Luke. Assuming the character is manifesting as a Force ghost, will Williams utilize the Force theme? The main SW theme? The "Jedi Steps" theme from TFA did return in TLJ, but only towards the beginning of the score, and seems more like a setting-based motif. We got a new theme for Luke in exile in TLJ, but that, too, seems specific enough that I wouldn't be surprised if we don't hear it again. Perhaps we'll get something new.
I'm also mildly curious to see if we get some manner of musical Cloud City reference for Lando. None of that material followed the character into ROTJ, of course, but it wouldn't surprise me if Williams is feeling nostalgic and wants to call back to something.
The Force theme was noticeably overdone in TLJ, especially because he had to use it in two cues in a row for basically the exact same Binary Sunset callback. I'm fine with restraint when it comes to that theme, that's for sure!
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After hearing the results of the piece meal/small bites scoring strategy that was JJ's Force Awakens and the (ultimately bullshit) 'I'm gonna give the whole finished film to JW and let him work his magic' Rian Johnson Last Jedi*, I'm looking forward to the last SW/JW film a bit more now.
*He didn't mention the final cut came complete with previous SW music temp track for Williams to slavishly copy 
Yeah, that last bit left me feeling a bit sour, too. That's not at all what Johnson said originally! So many key moments in TLJ were just copy and paste re-recordings of the same exact sections of themes he used in The Force Awakens.
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*He didn't mention the final cut came complete with previous SW music temp track for Williams to slavishly copy
You know ladies and gents, ALL Star Wars films have had temp tracks. So let’s not get too precious.
The issue was with Johnson’s initial presentation versus how he framed the collaboration later.
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Yeah, his initial comments were definitely hinting at a blank canvas for Williams to work on.
He was very reverential and kinda questioned why anyone would help guide Williams on how to score a SW film.
But how do we know that Williams didn't hear the temp and think "Those are good suggestions"?
Yeah, I know this is all speculation, but I do get the impression that Williams actually kind of likes it when he gets to just bring back themes he already wrote and liked the first time. It wouldn’t surprise me of Johnson told him to stray from the temp if he wanted and Williams thought, “Well that sounds like work I don’t want to do if I don’t have to!” Plus, some of the near-needle drops came from portions of his concert suites that never even made it to the earlier films, and I have to imagine it was nice to finally get to use, say, the climax of Princess Leia’s theme.
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Most of the Star Wars sequel/prequel scores have quoted whole sections of previous entries in the franchise. I'm not talking about tracking either, but music Williams composed (or at least was complicit in the creation of).
Off the top of my head:
“The Return of the Jedi” and many parts of the Death Star II: Electric Bugaloo attack are mash-ups of “The TIE Fighter Attack” and “The Last Battle.”
The revelation of the Clone Army in AOTC reprises “The Droid Occupation.”
“Anakin Vs. Obi-Wan” reprises “The Duel.”
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