Mini Series The Music of Obi-Wan Kenobi Series

Which composer do you think would be the best choice to score the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+?

My ideal pick would be Hildur Guðnadóttir, the composer of Chernobyl and Joker:




Since The Madolorian experimented with music that was more unconventional by franchise standards, I’d like to see the other TV shows continue that trend. I also think that she could easily capture the loneliness and isolation that Obi-Wan would be feeling in exile on Tatooine and create something haunting and contemplative.

 

I wouldn't mind Giacchino returning for TV to do this limited series. This series should definitely have music that is more in line with the Williams stuff of the Saga films. I would also toss Ramin Djawadi in there, his orchestral stuff for Game of Thrones and Westworld is both excellent and shows great range to adapt stylistically. I also think John Powell would be great.

One negative comment, definitely no Göransson. Overall, I think his Mandalorian music sucks.

Side Note: Isn't the series already titled "Kenobi"?

 

Göransson has unequivocally created the best and most interesting music in Star Wars since the Disney purchase. Would be great to have him score the Obi-wan show too, but I suspect that a composer who best fits the style and tone of this series will be chosen. That’s as it should be. And since I have no idea what the style and tone of this show will be, I don’t know who’s the right composer for it.

But to say Göransson’s score “sucks” borders on trolling. No problem if it’s not your thing, but you must be aware of how universally praised it is here, and that you’re vigorously stirring the pot with that comment.

 

Uncut Gems guy

 

I would think maybe Alexandre Desplat would be a good fit but not sure he'd do Disney + style TV show. Same with Giacchino, but I guess its possible. Maybe someone like Kevin Kiner or John Powell or even Göransson could work. Would be interesting if John Williams does it but probably not,lol.

 

Throw Powell something else.

Or get Ottman for something.

Short of Silvestri & Horner, they're basically the true inheritors of that Williams sound. And Silvestri hasn't been on his A-game in years (hey, middling Silvestri's still better than most stuff out there now anyway), and Horner's...

 

The TV shows will be doing their own thing, musically. No need for the “Williams sound.” The Mando has finally broken the mold. And I’m glad. I was getting tired of imitation Williams. Even from Williams himself. Felt like diminishing returns. Göransson’s work is much more preferable to more derivative orchestral stuff. Just set these shows to music that works best for the story you’re telling. If it’s not an operatic story, don’t use operatic music. Simple.

 

Nah. Mando's western vibes suit it to a tee, but that's one little corner of Star Wars.

We're bound to get more classic SW stuff in something suited to it. Tatooine-Obi's probably fitting for some western elements too, but I'd temper it quite a lot from what we get in mando. Probably should have as much of an eastern/samurai vibe to it as an old west sound, but also with the soaring heroic Johnny-boy vibes.

 

If it leans hard in the samurai direction, then so should the music. Same with it leaning hard in the western direction. And if it follows the operatic style of the OT? Then go Williamsy with it. The point is simply that they shouldn’t shove operatic music into a non-operatic story. That’s when the artifice shows. Just go with music that best suits (and elevates) the story.

I think people were dead wrong about the Mandalorian straying wildly from traditional Star Wars scoring. The music is one of the best elements of that show.

And I hope the creatives driving the Obi-wan show ignore the old farts arguing internally for preserving musical sacred cows. Leave the sacred cows behind. Kill them, if you have to. Then we’ll all have tasty hamburgers.

 

Surely stating that Göransson has unequivocally created better and more interesting music than the Maestro John Williams is also stirring the pot on a Star Wars forum where his music is universally praised...

I do agree with the comments that the Kenobi music should underscore the story, which is what I always expect of a score. Whatever the music is, I definitely want it to be fitting, which the music for the Mandalorian is, but I also want the Kenobi score to be great, which the music for the Mandalorian is not.

 

How about a trio, consisting of Ryuichi Sakamoto on piano/synth, either Masayuki Koga or Kōhachirō Miyata on shakuhachi, and Hildur Guðnadóttir on cello?
And there would need to be a track titled Happy Life Day, Mr. Binks.
Not all three musicians would play together at the same time, though. Tracks would consist of solos and duets. Well, maybe the finale could feature all three together.

 

Maybe, but Görannson’s score for the Mando is also nearly universally praised on this forum. So that means we’re both stirring pots here.

 

A Gerry Goldsmith original Planet Of The Apes style score. Lots of random plucked strings, percussion, grunts and howls... The tribal music of the Sand People.

 

Goldsmith, there's a freakin' composer.

Wish Poledouris was still around, too, Young Ludwiggy seems to have taken plenty out of the Poledouris book for Mando. Some of the stuff's straight-up Conan.

 

As long as it has the Williams themes, I don't mind who does it. I'm going to be irritated though if they pull a Mandalorian and go the route of the MCU scores and have zero connective tissue.

 

I hope they go the route of the Mandalorian score, and use music that’s best suited to the style of the show rather than jamming Williams-esque music in just because...Star Wars.

 

Bor really, really doesn't like Williams.

*Throws a pie in his face, runs away giggling maniacally*

 

It’s true that I don’t much like Williams-lite. A lot of it is like mall music, though Giacchino did a really good job with it in Rogue One (though that fit, as it was a big, epic story). I also find his ST scores to be lacking, apart from the Kylo Ren and some of the Rey themes. What Göransson has done is just so much better and liberating for the franchise, that going back to the Williams formula would feel like a major regression to me.

 

I really like this theme by Williams. It might not be as instantly iconic as much of his other work, but there's a nobility to it that I'm really drawn to. I'm not much of a music person, but the little ascending stretch from 1:44 - 1:57 really reminds me of "The Spark" from TLJ as Luke walks out to face the First Order.

For those who are more musically inclined, David Collins has a fun little thread analyzing the theme:

 

The theme and its adaptations by William Ross are really good.

 

I like how Vader's music is an underdeveloped, grungy precursor to the Imperial motif in ANH.

 

Finished episode 3. Apart from the uniquely orchestrated hanging cue from the first episode, the stuff from Holt's camp has been pretty universally bad (IMO).

No idea why the filmmakers/composers decided to go such modern, Hans Zimmer-like route for a story that's so thoroughly connected to the other movies (the "trying something different" argument doesn't work here as this exact sound has already been done twice in a row (to better effect) in The Mandolarian and Boba Fett, in addition to... pretty much every other movie/tv show coming out now).

The duel music wasn't nearly as bad as some fans made it out to be though. It didn't distract from the scene like a lot of the other music

 

If there has been music...I've barely noticed.