Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi Composer Confirms Series Debuts a Stormtrooper Theme

Throughout the history of Star Wars, a number of iconic characters have gotten their own themes, and while “The Imperial March” is meant to represent the entire Galactic Empire, it’s intrinsically linked with the intimidating presence of Darth Vader. With the upcoming Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, John Williams returned to the saga to craft a theme for the title character, while Natalie Holt composed music for the rest of the series, who recently confirmed that the new series will see a theme being revealed that honors the Empire’s stormtroopers. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on Disney+ on May 27th.

“Obviously, John Williams has written the Obi theme, but I did start off trying to write one, to be honest. I was writing from [director] Deborah’s [Chow] instructions and it was interesting,” Holt shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “She was like, ‘He’s in the desert. He’s lost, he’s been alone.’ It’s like anything for his theme would just be small, crumbling, fragmented, and thin. Then it would grow as he goes on this journey. That was kind of interesting seeing the place that I arrived at, just for the world and his environment. Obviously, there are lots of different characters in the show, and I did also write music themes for planets. In addition, there is a Stormtroopers theme. That’s all I can say right now.”

Given the connections between the stormtroopers and the Galactic Empire, fans will surely wonder if the theme Holt described will have any similarities with the recognizable “The Imperial March” or if it will be an entirely original composition that will rival the intimidating music. 

Williams had seemingly retired from the galaxy far, far away with his score for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, completing his nine-film trajectory with the franchise, though Obi-Wan’s death relatively early in the franchise meant he never got to craft a piece of music specifically for that character, resulting in him asking if he could contribute a piece.

“We didn’t collaborate, but I did get to use his theme. He didn’t have very long and it was quite last minute whether he’d have time or not,” Holt explained of Williams’ involvement. “But he really wanted to write that theme because he was the one character that he didn’t write the theme for in the original movie. So I think he had this feeling that he wanted to complete the challenge. I think he had two weeks and he came on board and wrote the Obi theme and a suite, which is the main title, and then a few variations of how the Obi theme can work. That was what he had time to give the project, and it was just a gift. It’s so perfect and in a way, once I had that Obi theme, it set the tentpoles up for the project.”

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on Disney+ on May 27th.

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