Star Wars: Andor Is Trying Something Unique With Its Theme Music
The magic of "Star Wars" has always been largely connected to its music. From the opening blast of John Williams' rousing score for "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope" to Ludwig Goransson's haunting bass recorders on the theme for "The Mandalorian," music has long helped to transport fans to the galaxy far, far away. Now, with the upcoming Disney+ show "Andor," showrunner Tony Gilroy brought in composer Nic Britell to create a new sonic language for this corner of the sprawling "Star Wars" universe.
"Andor" is billed as a prequel to "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," and is set five years prior to the events of that film. The series follows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) as he sets out on his journey to become a Rebel hero during the height of the Empire's reign over the galaxy, exploring what drives Cassian to become one of those who sacrifice their lives in "Rogue One" to help deliver the Death Star schematics to the Rebel Alliance.
After so much focus on established characters from the original trilogy in shows like "The Book of Boba Fett" and "Obi-Wan Kenobi," it seems as though "Andor" is primed to give fans a look at lesser explored parts of the "Star Wars" lore. In order to do that, Gilroy says the score of "Andor" needed special attention. Therefore, the show has done something unique with its theme music.
Each episode of Andor will have a different variation on its theme music
According to "Andor" showrunner Tony Gilroy, each episode of the series will have a different variation of its theme music. In the production notes for the show, Gilroy relates that "Andor" took a step in a new direction from the John Williams-esque music that many fans are familiar with, and composer Nic Britell was the man for the job. "One day, I went to Nic's house, and he played us his theme," the showrunner says. "I was like, 'Oh my god! That's our theme.'"
However, according to Gilroy, their work was far from finished. Britell created twelve unique variants of the theme music for "Andor," one to accompany each episode in the season. "Each variation is a different orchestration, a completely different interpretation of our theme that Nic has done," Gilroy explained. Theme music can set the tone for an episode of television, so for a show like "Andor" that hopes to take audiences on a journey, different music can be a clever way of placing viewers in the emotional space the episode requires. Gilroy seems to trust that fans will figure out the deeper meaning behind each version of the theme, saying, "I'm sure people will parse them."
Despite making bold choices with its take on the "Star Wars" universe, Disney has already demonstrated their confidence in "Andor" by renewing the show for Season 2 ahead of its September 21 Season 1 debut on Disney+.