‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ will have John Williams involved on the score
Solo will stay in the ‘Star Wars’ family with veteran franchise composer John Williams set to write the theme for the standalone film about Han Solo, slated for release on May 25.
Williams revealed his involvement in Solo: A Star Wars Story during in an interview with Variety about his contribution to The Last Jedi.
“The present plan is that I’m writing a theme for Han Solo, and John Powell is going to write the score, which he’ll do brilliantly,” Williams says.
Powell was announced as the primary composer for Solo back in July.
“His assignment is something I’m very happy about,” Williams adds. “What I will do is offer this to John, and to [director] Ron Howard, and if all parties are happy with it, then I will be happy. … John [Powell] will complete the score. He will write all the rest of the themes and all of the other material, which I’m going to be very anxious to hear.”
Williams has written the complete scores for all eight of the main Star Wars films, winning an Oscar for the 1977 original and nominations for three of the other seven.
Powell indicated that it would be “scored in the style of the original ‘Star Wars’ movies but retain Powell’s distinctive voice.”
London-born, Los Angeles-based Powell, a 2010 Oscar nominee for his score for the animated “How to Train Your Dragon,” has also scored the “Bourne” action franchise, “United 93” and a number of other animated films including this year’s “Ferdinand,” as well as the “Happy Feet” and “Rio” movies.
The earlier “Star Wars” standalone, 2016’s “Rogue One,” was scored by Michael Giacchino.
In the new film, Alden Ehrenreich will play a young Han Solo, the beloved character immortalized by Harrison Ford in the original trilogy and then again in 2015’s The Force Awakens.
The Han Solo pic also stars Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca). Directors Phil Lord & Christopher Miller were dropped from Han Solo after creative rifts with Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan.
Paul Bettany has been added as a character that Michael Kenneth Williams was expected to play, but instead of being a motion-capture alien, he’ll be a real person.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is still set for a theatrical release on May 25, 2018.
You forgot to mention Powell also did Antz and Chicken Run with Gregson-Williams.