When J.J. Abrams got the job of reigniting the** Star Wars** flame in that galaxy far, far away, one of the earliest considerations – after the lens flare jokes were out of the way – was who would score Episode VII. Now Abrams, out doing press for Star Trek Into Darkness, has answered a direct question about the subject, and indicated that he believes long-time **Star Wars **composer John Williams will craft the score once more.
There had been some speculation that, given their own long working relationship, Michael Giacchino might be the man for the job going forward, since he’s scored almost everything Abrams has produced. It appears, however, that the director is sticking with Star Wars tradition on this one.
"Michael Giacchino is an incredible composer, who I was lucky enough to begin working with on Alias. He's truly one of the most influential members of our crew, and I think [on] this score, he really outdid himself,” Abrams told ComicBookMovie at a recent press conference. “Again, for** Star Wars**, it's very early days, but I believe that, going forward, John Williams will be doing that film, because he was there long before I was."
It likely won’t be news to Giacchino, who when we spoke to him for our recent J.J. Abrams-packed issue admitted that even he wanted to hear new Williams music for the next Star Wars: “I’m a huge Star Wars fan, but one of the things that excites me most about it coming back is the chance to hear new John Williams music, not new Michael Giacchino music based on John Williams music. I’m excited to hear what he would do, so however it shakes out, it would be great.”
To read more from Giacchino and other key members of Team Abrams, head over here. If you’re after the Abrams issue of the magazine, it’s still available via the iPad version.
Incidentally: fan of composers and movie music in general? You'll want to check out our massive celebration of all things cinematically tuneful. And for more from Abrams and Giacchino, our Star Trek Into Darkness review is here.