John Williams To Start Working On Star Wars: Episode VIII In A Few Weeks
By Elaine Tveit
While conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra in a concert of his own compositions, John Williams announced he will begin work on Star Wars: Episode VIII in a few weeks.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens was not John Williams’s last Star Wars score. Last night, at a concert of his compositions with the Boston Pops Orchestra, Williams announced he would begin working on the Episode VIII score in a few weeks, after he sees an early cut of the film (via Mass Live).
On the red carpet on the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony, for which Williams was the guest of honor, Williams expressed his hope of scoring Episode VIII. “If I can do it,” he said, “I certainly will.” Then and now, his reason for wanting to stay with Star Wars for another score remains the same: he doesn’t want anyone else to compose music for Daisy Ridley’s Rey.
“I told Kathy Kennedy I’m happy to do it,” Williams told the reporter on the AFI red carpet, “but the real reason is, I didn’t want anybody else writing music for Daisy Ridley.” Then, at the Boston Pops concert reported by Mass Live, he said he “was enchanted by actress Daisy Ridley’s portrayal of Rey and does not want another composer scoring her scenes.”
Williams has described “Rey’s Theme” as being his favorite piece of music from The Force Awakens score. Having listened to it myself many times, I am glad he will continue developing that thread of music in Episode VIII. “Rey’s Theme” is unlike any other piece of Star Wars music I have heard before; its melody and tempo are unique to the sequel trilogy, and it strikes a perfect balance between capturing Rey’s innocence and hinting at the promise of her destiny. Essentially, it encapsulates her character, and capturing a character in music is something Williams is a master at.
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Williams started Rey’s musical portrait, so it seems only fitting he should continue and eventually, we hope, finish it.