John Williams is heading back to a galaxy far, far away, as he is set to compose the theme for the upcoming Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi starring Ewan McGregor.
Variety broke the news, reporting that Williams has written the musical signature for the beloved character, whose adventures will continue on May 25 timed to the 45th anniversary of Star Wars. The trade says that Williams recorded last week with a Los Angeles orchestra under tight security.
Williams rarely composes for television, so his involvement in the Obi-Wan series is noteworthy, especially seeing as how his last theme for a weekly dramatic series was Amazing Stories in 1985. Williams has also written for both Masterpiece Theatre (2000) and Great Performances (2009) on PBS, while his news and Olympics themes continue to air on NBC despite being written decades ago.
Williams won an Oscar for his original Star Wars score in 1977, and he was nominated for five of its sequels as well — The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker. He also wrote the theme for Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018 and Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge theme park, the latter of which actually earned him one of six Grammy Awards he has won for his Star Wars compositions over the past half-century.
Williams may be the busiest 90-year-old on the planet, as he’s also composing the score for Indiana Jones 5 as well as Steven Spielberg‘s next movie The Fabelmans, which hits theaters in November. He’s also preparing to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh Symphony all in the next two months. As for us Angelenos, you’ll have to wait until September to catch Williams at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
