‘Star Wars’ Composer John Williams Composing Theme for ‘Solo’

Details for Solo: A Star Wars Story may be few, but one things fans can count on for the upcoming Han Solo standalone film is that it will have an iconic musical tie to the larger Star Wars universe. Legendary Star Wars composer John Williams will write a theme for the upcoming film.

According to an interview in Variety, Williams revealed his involvement in Solo: A Star Wars Story while talking about his work for the latest Star Wars franchise film, The Last Jedi.

“The present plan is that I’m writing a theme for Han Solo, and John Powell is going to write the score, which he’ll do brilliantly,” Williams said.

John Powell was announced as the primary composer for the standalone film back in July and while Williams creating a theme in addition to Powell’s compositions for the film, given Williams’ contributions to the musical side of the Star Wars universe, having the composer contribute to Solo provides additional connection between the standalone film and the main franchise. Music has long been an integral part of the Star Wars franchise, and Williams has written the complete scores for all eight of the main films. Williams even won an Oscar for 1977’s A New Hope and has been nominated for three of the other films.

Including Williams as part of the soundscape for Solo may help the Han Solo film avoid some of the criticism that the previous Star Wars standalone, Rogue One, received. Star Trek composer Michael Giacchino provided the score for that film and while the score wasn’t criticized for being bad, many pointed out that it didn’t have the same Star Wars feel as the primary franchise films. One fan went so far as to re-edit Rogue One with Williams’ work from the other Star Wars films.

For his part, however, Williams is pleased with Powell being chosen for Solo and explained that he is excited to hear Powell’s work for the film himself.

“His assignment is something I’m very happy about,” Williams sad. “What I will do is offer this to John, and to [director] Ron Howard, and if all parties are happy with it, then I will be happy. John will complete the score. He will write all the rest of the themes and all of the other material, which I’m going to be very anxious to hear.”

Solo: A Star Wars Story, which stars Aiden Ehrenreich as a young Han Solo and gives a glimpse of the beloved character and his pre-A New Hope adventures, will hit theaters May 25, 2017.