Star Wars has produced some of the most memorable film music of all time, and most of it can be credited to the great John Williams. But with the series now having settled into the streaming age, it’s time for some new blood to infuse their own voice into the galaxy far, far away. And has there been a more exciting addition to the Star Wars music canon than Nicholas Britell? The composer behind arguably one of the greatest opening themes of any television show has created not one but 12 variations of the same title theme for the latest live-action Star Wars series, Andor.
Centered around Cassian Andor, a character that was first introduced in director Gareth Edwards’ gritty Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Andor presents a grounded, almost grown-up account of his evolution from a thief to a Rebel spy. Diego Luna reprises his role in the series, which debuted with three episodes on Disney+ on Wednesday.
To celebrate the show’s release, Britell unveiled the three opening title themes that he composed for the first batch of episodes; there will be 12 in total, so fans can expect more musical experimentation as the season progresses. Series creator Tony Gilroy said in the show’s production notes that they’re inventing a “new musical vocabulary” for the project, and are “going in a whole other direction” from the work that Williams has done in the past. In his own words:
"None of the opening sequences are the same, and each variation is a different orchestration, a completely different interpretation of our theme that Nic has done. There'll be twelve of them in the show. I'm sure people will parse them and figure them out, what he's done. I think they're just absolutely beautiful.”
The rain-soaked opening moments of the first episode perfectly set the tone for the show to follow, which can best be described as another Gilroy project in which he examines the relationship between individuals and organizations. And Britell’s theme for the opening episode is grim yet hopeful, retaining the sweep of a space opera but with an electronic edge. As the story delves deeper into Cassian’s past, the music becomes more nostalgic — the theme for the second episode is dominated by strings, and has an almost romantic quality. The theme for the third episode is more urgent, perhaps reflecting the heightened stakes of the story, paired with the arrival of Stellan Skarsgård's Luthen Rael. By this time, Cassian has already begun his transformation into the selfless man that he is destined to become at the end of Rogue One.
Prior to Britell, the composers who’ve contributed to the (live-action) Star Wars films and shows include Williams, who did extraordinary work on all nine main films; Michael Giacchino, who came in at the last minute to work on Rogue One; John Powell, who composed the score for Solo: A Star Wars Story; and most recently, Ludwig Göransson, who worked on both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Natalie Holt became the first woman to score a live-action Star Wars project with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Besides Andor and Succession, Britell is perhaps best known for his glorious orchestral scores for director Barry Jenkins’ projects — Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk, and The Underground Railroad. He earned his third Academy Award nomination earlier this year for his work on director Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up.
The first three episodes of Andor are currently streaming on Disney+. You can listen to Britell’s themes here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.