When a franchise has been around for almost fifty years, elements of its presentation have a tendency to rely on legacy and have a hard time evolving. The Star Wars franchise has spent far too long wading in stuff fans remember and its ability to move forward grows more questionable.
One of the biggest culprits of trying to turn memories into material was Rogue One, which barely bothered to feature a story and relied almost entirely on callbacks. Despite the film's success, the new characters didn't become fan favorites, but the franchise has clearly decided that at least a couple of them deserve another chance.
One of the most rightfully celebrated aspects of the Star Wars franchise is its classic orchestral soundtrack. Easily counted amongst the most memorable cinematic soundtracks in history, John Williams is responsible for the franchise's soundscape. From the soaring main theme to the intimidating villain's march, Williams determined the sound of the Star Wars franchise. He composed the score for all three trilogies, then announced his retirement from the franchise after Rise of Skywalker, only to return for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Other composers worked on Star Wars projects, from cartoons and streaming series to spin-off films, but Williams has been the sole musical voice of all nine mainline entries. With the upcoming Andor series, a new composer will enter the franchise for the first time.
The film that introduced Cassian Andor was Rogue One, which was the first live-action Star Wars film without John Williams as composer. Instead, that film reached out to Spider-Man: No Way Homeand The Batman composer Michael Giacchino. This was a big deal at the time, but if one were to watch the film now without that information, they'd barely notice. Giacchino worked very hard to replicate the identical feel and inspiration behind Williams' score. He pulled from many of the same sources and went so far as to include bits of Williams' orchestrations in the film's score. With that in mind, Giacchino's usually excellent bombastic style is subsumed under that film's obsession with referencing previous aspects of the film. This has unfortunately been the outcome with most new composers brought into the Star Wars franchise. There is one major exception, however.
The Mandalorian is, in many ways, the best thing to happen to Star Wars in decades. It made the franchise feel fresh in a way that nothing else has managed before or since. The simple space western tale of a hardened warrior trying to protect the life of a powerful alien youngling won the hearts of fans and newcomers. One of the most unique aspects of that series was its soundtrack, composed by Ludwig Göransson. The composer behind Black Panther and producer of Childish Gambino's studio albums sought to recapture the feeling of John Williams's score while deviating from it entirely. He succeeded with aplomb, leading to one of the most original and well-received musical soundtracks of the modern era. Göransson is the only composer for a live-action Star Wars project to leave a mark, but who will be trying to make their mark on the franchise when Andor drops?
Nicholas Britell isn't known for his work in blockbuster cinema. His biggest pop culture showing came last year when he was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Adam McKay's Don't Look Up. He composed the musical score, as well as the iconic Ariana Grande pop song for that Netflix comedy. Prior to that, he received the same nomination for his work on the 2019 drama If Beale Street Could Talk. Britell composed the theme song for HBO's Succession, for which he received an Emmy. Most of his work is in the world of prestige drama or upscale comedy, but Britell has collaborated with Disney once before. Britell composed the soundtrack for Cruella last year, though it's far from his best-received orchestral work. With his position on Andor, he stands to add something radically different to the franchise.
With the tone of the first trailer, Andor seems poised to follow the pattern of Rogue One, which managed to be the only actual war film in the Star Wars saga. The tale of born rebel Cassian Andor seems to be being handled with a much more serious tone than any of the other franchise fare. They're creating something much closer to military sci-fi than the traditional space opera tone. That might be hard to sell with the typical Star Wars iconography and a couple of recognizable characters. If the Star Wars franchise hopes to create something more serious in tone and powerful in messaging, a soundtrack from the man who composed The Underground Railroad miniseries might make that happen. Nicholas Britell's unique musical style and long history with prestige drama might empower him to create something new for this ailing franchise.