Han Solo Spin-Off Gains A Composer With John Powell

Patrick Cavanaugh

07/26/2017 05:36 pm EDT

Music has always played a vital part of the Star Wars saga, with the first time you heard the film's theme while the opening crawl moved across the screen being an important moment for everyone. Lucasfilm announced today that John Powell will score the upcoming untitled Han Solo film, becoming only the third ever composer for a live-action Star Wars film.

Prior to joining the Star Wars universe, Powell has scored the Matt Damon-starring Bourne films, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon. The composer will have the opportunity to leave his signature in the Star Wars universe, something very few composers can claim to have done.

John Williams is responsible for crafting seven of the films' soundtracks, creating the memorable main theme, the Imperial March, and countless other iconic pieces in the Star Wars score's catalog. After having crafted the music for the first two trilogies, audiences were thrilled and delighted at his participation in The Force Awakens and the upcoming The Last Jedi. It's to be assumed he will also provide the score for the upcoming Episode IX.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story marked the first live-action departure from the episodic films and the story of the Skywalkers. To ensure that this prequel would have its own distinct style and sound, Lucasfilm tapped Michael Giacchino to compose that film's score. The composer was tasked with the difficult challenge of both creating a score inspired by Williams' work while also not mimicking it too blatantly.

The untitled Han Solo movie, the next spin-off film, is set to be released May 24, 2018.

More Han Solo News:

The Han Solo movie is being produced by Lucasfilm from a screenplay by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan and will be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the second standalone Star Wars movie following Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in 2016.

Set prior to the events of Han Solo's first appearance in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, the film stars Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Joonas Suotamo. The film is said to show how Han Solo and Chewbacca, first met Lando Calrissian, played by Glover.

Filming on the Han Solo movie began in January 2017 with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directing. Principal photography began at Pinewood Studios in February. Lord and Miller left the Han Solo movie in June, having reportedly been fired over creative differences. Ron Howard will come on as the director to see the production to completion.

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(Photo: Cedric Tosoni)