John Williams Hints at Retiring From the Star Wars Saga

Iconic composer John Williams created the epic themes for the Star Wars franchise for over four decades, but it sounds like that time will be coming to a close in the near future.

While speaking on Los Angeles radio station KUSC, Williams revealed that he might be done with the franchise after composing Star Wars: Episode IX.

“J.J. Abrams is preparing [Episode IX] that I will hopefully do next year for him,” said Williams. “It will round up the series of nine that will be quite enough for me. Disney will take it further and they will probably continue on to do Star Wars for decades. So I think it’s all good.”

That might not be the only Star Wars film Williams will be composing for, as a recent report suggested he will be creating the theme for Solo: A Star Wars Story. The first Star Wars spinoff movie, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, was composed by Michael Giacchino. This would be the first spinoff movie Williams has worked on in the saga.

Given that there are many other spinoff films in the works from people like Rian Johnson, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, and Simon Kinberg, there will be a chance for many different composers to make their mark in the Star Wars galaxy — it will just be strange that Williams might not be involved.

Of course, it also remains to be seen what will happen with the Skywalker Saga beyond Episode IX. It could be the end of those numbered movies, if only for the time being. Whether they plan a new trilogy for potential Episodes X, XI, and XII won’t likely be revealed until well after Abrams final film in the sequel trilogy is released.

But with Episode IX on the horizon, Williams is eager to see how it all turns out — especially when it comes to Daisy Ridley‘s character Rey. In the same interview, he revealed that he’s a big fan of the actor and her role in the saga, and even has a theory about her parents’ true identities.

“Rey’s parents might be identified to us in the next film…I don’t believe [they are ‘nobodies’] either,” Williams said. “Rey, of course, is played by Daisy Ridley, who I so loved in The Force Awakens. And last year, when Kathy Kennedy rang me up and said, ‘Would you do the last music for The Last Jedi?’ I said to her, ‘Is Daisy in it?’ and she said yes, so I said yes.”

We’ll find out if Williams’ theory holds true when Star Wars: Episode IX premieres in theaters on December 20, 2019.