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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Speculation The Music of Star Wars Episode VII

Discussion in 'Archive: Disney Era Films' started by -polymath-, Oct 31, 2012.

  1. solojones

    solojones Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 27, 2000
    Zimmer hardly writes any of his own music anyway. And yeah, he'd be utterly wrong.
     
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  2. Riven_JTAC

    Riven_JTAC Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 28, 2011
    Great. Thanks to this topic I am rummaging around my apartment for all of my Medal of Honor soundtracks... Yes, I have them all. Yes, it cost me a large amount of $$ to buy. Yes, Michael Giacchino's work is worth every penny.

    I'll just leave this here...

     
  3. HL&S

    HL&S Magistrate Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 2001
    Giacchino is basically the number one replacement if Williams is unable to do it. But for now, if episodes 7, 8, and 9 tie in with the first 6, I'm betting they are working under the impression that Williams will score them. No one wants to be the producer or director who says "Williams is too old for this trilogy" only to be kicking themselves when he turns 89 and is still going. You have to go for the gold and if Darth Real Life changes the plans, it's Giacchino who will honor Williams by keeping the style right.
     
  4. Riven_JTAC

    Riven_JTAC Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 28, 2011
    Good plan. I like it. Now send it to Disney. :)
     
  5. Zer0

    Zer0 Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    John William's should stick with it, I couldn't imagine anyone else doing it.
     
  6. Barriss_Coffee

    Barriss_Coffee Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2003
    Well hold up now. Giacchino is a damn dirty Trekkie.
     
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  7. WIERD_GREEN_MAN

    WIERD_GREEN_MAN Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 16, 2010
    If the story is very different (different characters, time period, etc.) the music should have new stuff, instead of rehashing the same themes again and again.
    Hans Zimmer's style may work.
    If the story is very different, Daft Punk may also work.
     
  8. Riven_JTAC

    Riven_JTAC Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 28, 2011
    If the movies are so different as to make something else more appropriate than huge orchestras, that would be a shame. Even if the characters and time period change, I would hope that the idea is still to tell an epic (used not in the everyday sense but in the classic literary/film sense) story and that demands the kind of music we are used to hearing in the current six films.

    Don't get me wrong; I love me some Daft Punk and Hans Zimmer is my second favorite film composer behind Williams, but I would be somewhat upset if SW changed to the point that guys like Williams' and Giacchino's styles are not the most appropriate anymore.
     
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  9. Womprataouille1974

    Womprataouille1974 Jedi Padawan

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    Did you really go there? Lesser works?
    Unless you are a orchestral composer of a very high degree... ugh... never mind...
     
  10. solojones

    solojones Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 27, 2000
    Oh, they should definitely try to get Williams to do it. I'm just saying, I think there's a reasonably high likelihood he won't make it that long. The best plan might be to have Williams do it while sort of 'training' a replacement in how to do these scores should he die before it's complete. Maybe that sounds too morbid, but I'm just being realistic.
     
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  11. segask

    segask Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Jun 15, 2002
    I wonder if it is possible for Disney to purchase the opening fanfare music from Fox just for use on eps 7 - 9?

    Back in 70's - '80's the olympics were always on ABC, then in the late '80's NBC took over. When NBC first took over they didn't have the olympic theme music because it was owned by ABC, but after a couple of olympics they eventually were able to buy it from ABC.
     
  12. -polymath-

    -polymath- SFF:F/TV Trivia Host star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Jun 7, 2007
    Disney could try to license it from 20th century fox but why do it? They'd just be diluting their brand. The new movies need to be firmly stamped as Disney IP and having the castle at the start of the film with the "when you wish upon a star" music sets an indelible tone. I just don't see it happening. Plus 20th century fox will charge a crap ton of money in licensing fees. Just not going to be worth it from disney's bottom line perspective and that's what it'll be about.
     
  13. Guy-Gone_Weird

    Guy-Gone_Weird Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 28, 2003
    Maybe he could write new theme motifs, and hand them off to a composer to put into a full score. If John Williams won't be able to do it, I trust that a capable composer will do it with a huge amount of respect and intertwine the classic themes and new themes. Michael Giacchino did this recently when he scored Star Tours II. I also think John Ottman did a fantastic job with this in the Superman Returns score, even if the movie itself was...meh.
     
  14. Lord_Shame

    Lord_Shame Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Jan 23, 2008
    The idea of Hans Zimmer is as ridiculous as Nolan for director. Both good in their own ways, but completely incompatible with the essence / tradition of Star Wars. I'd forgotten about John Ottman. I feel he could do justice to Williams' style. Silvestri is a good choice too. As a kid I thought his stuff was Williams. I think there is a good chance that Williams will be able to return, and that it is definite that his themes will be incorporated in some capacity.
     
  15. -polymath-

    -polymath- SFF:F/TV Trivia Host star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Jun 7, 2007
    I'd be shocked if the themes are not referenced in the new scores. I mean heck, the Naboo celebration music is just a tweaked version of the emperor's theme from episode vi. Anakins theme references the imperial march. The themes will be there, it's just a question of how much.
     
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  16. ataru

    ataru Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    John Williams is so many orders of magnitude better than anyone else you could name.

    Too many of them subscribe to that hocum about movie music not being noticeable and only setting the mood leading to bland forgettable murmurs.

    Nobody ever walked out of a Star Wars movie unable to whistle the main theme.
     
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  17. DARTHKANISS

    DARTHKANISS Jedi Grand Master star 1

    Registered:
    Sep 8, 2004
    <-------------Give it to these guys.... hahahahaah kidding...Imagine that.
     
  18. Guinastasia

    Guinastasia Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 9, 2002
    Ugh. Just...ugh. The 20th Century Fox intro IS SW. I mean, every time I hear it, no matter what movie I'm watching, it feels like you're going to hear the opening of the SW theme. Hearing "When You Wish Upon a Star" before a SW movie would be nauseating. And anyone other than John Williams, no.

    Just...yuck. I'm probably speaking too soon, I know I'm sounding like a fan-Nazi, etc, but just...no. That's so wrong.
     
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  19. JediMJS

    JediMJS Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    Don't think i've seen anyone mention Clint Mansell (Requiem for a Dream, the Fountain, Black Swan) on here. I'd pull for him or Howard Shore (LoTR, Hugo) if we didn't get Williams back.
     
  20. Ben H.

    Ben H. Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    I just saw Young Frankenstein for Halloween, it is a family tradition. It begins with the 20th Century Fox Fanfare. That belongs to Fox Studios. Just because Disney owns Lucasfilm does not mean that Disney will distribute the film. But there is probably a 99.5% chance Disney will distribute the film.

    All that should change about the music is that the 20th Century Fox Fanfare would be replaced with the "When You Wish Upon a Star" motif that you see and hear at the beginning of Pirates. It's not what we are used to for a Star Wars film but it will work. If the film is scored right, this will be the only noticeable change about the music.

    John Williams only scored the first 3 Harry Potter films and the first Superman film. Other composers will be able to fill in and use some of the same themes and scoring to make the soundtrack consistent with the other films. There are composers, many already mentioned, that are capable of this.
     
  21. LawJedi

    LawJedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2009
    I can't help but imagining it being more like Tron:Legacy. Tweaked logo, with no music.
     
  22. Darth Ganthet

    Darth Ganthet Jedi Padawan

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    Michael Giacchino is an amazing composer... but when it comes to franchise stuff, he tends to embellish the cheesier elements. The first fifteen minutes of Star Trek was stunning, and the main theme was nice, but other than that, it was the same motif repeated over and over again in boring ways, and then his take on Alexander Courage's theme was godawfullllllll. I'd be afraid of his take on Williams' themes. He's better at coming up with his own stuff, but these movies will need to have music that has at least some familiarity, so he shouldn't be the guy to do it.

    John Williams would be ideal, but if he can't do it, get Joel McNeely and Thomas Newman to work together. McNeely for the Star Warsiness, and Newman to help him out with the more subtle, tender stuff that McNeely may not be able to achieve.

    Or find an unknown to wow us with something unexpected.

    But one thing's for sure..... definitely not James Newton Howard.
     
  23. Guy-Gone_Weird

    Guy-Gone_Weird Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 28, 2003
    Maybe this is slightly off-topic, but which of John Williams' motifs is everyone most looking forward to (hopefully) hearing again?

    For me it's probably Luke & Leia. It's a great theme that's very nostalgic to me from back when I used to wear out my "John Wlliams Conducts John Williams' Star Wars Trilogy" cassette tape as a kid. I honestly think it was a missed opportunity not to have a small bit of it in ROTS when Luke and Leia were born, or when Yoda, Bail and Obi-Wan were discussing what to do with them.

    A close second for me is (what I guess is) the Rebellion theme. It's the theme that plays in ROTJ as Admiral Ackbar and General Madine discuss the plan to attack the Death Star and immediately following as the scene goes to the hangar bay. ("Alliance Assembly" on the most recent soundtrack). I don't know why, but I love that theme. I'd love to see it expanded or perhaps even modified into a New Republic theme.

    Also if they appear as force ghosts, I'd love to hear Anakin's theme and Qui-Gon's theme again. And I'm always a sucker for the Sith/Emperor's theme, if the Sith are involved or mentioned.
     
  24. Vespasian

    Vespasian Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    Although I think Superman Returns is vastly underrated, my first thought (after John Williams) was also John Ottman! He is very competent.

    Giacchino is good too, but let's not spoil him too much, having all these franchises would be too good for him to be true.:)
     
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  25. Schwarma

    Schwarma Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 2012
    This.