Natalie Holt, who composed the score for Marvel’s Loki, has been confirmed to be joining forces with John Williams on the new Star Wars Disney Plus series Obi-Wan Kenobi.
While John Williams had officially retired from the Star Wars franchise following 2019’s Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, the composer is returning to compose a theme for the new series centered on Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. While Williams is returning in a limited capacity, to create a theme for Obi-Wan, Natalie Holt will be taking up the reins on the rest of the series’ soundtrack.
Natalie Holt will be the first female composer ever to work on a score for a Star Wars project. She has some experience of working with major franchises on Disney Plus, having previously worked on Tom Hiddleston’s Loki for Marvel Studios on the streaming platform. Obi-Wan Kenobi, though, came with the unique opportunity to work with one of cinema’s most legendary composers in John Williams. “Obviously, I’m just thrilled to be mentioned in the same breath as John Williams,” Holt said in a recent interview with Vanity Fair. “It’s been exciting and overwhelming at times, because I’m such a fan. I want to pay respect to the history of it, and do it justice as well.”
Discussing John Williams’ role in the series’ score, Holt revealed:
“Obi-Wan is a legacy character that John hadn’t written a theme for because he died quite early on in A New Hope. It’s the only legacy character that he hadn’t done. So he spoke to [Lucasfilm president] Kathleen Kennedy and said, “I just want to write Benny a theme.” So who can deny him that? And he did, he wrote the Obi theme, and it just embodies the spirit of the show entirely.”
Holt went on to describe the experience of working on the series with Williams, saying “it’s been glorious, working with my hero and also bringing my own voice to the show.” Star Wars fans don’t have long to wait now until they can hear the two composers’ work on Obi-Wan Kenobi, which arrives on Disney Plus at the end of next month.
Here is the synopsis for the upcoming Star Wars series:
During the reign of the Galactic Empire, former Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi embarks on a crucial mission. Kenobi must confront allies turned enemies and face the wrath of the Empire.”
Directed by Deborah Chow from Joby Harold’s scripts, the series stars Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie. The series will also see the return of legendary Star Wars composer John Williams, who scored a theme.
Obi-Wan Kenobi will hit Disney Plus on May 27, 2022. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the upcoming series, Loki‘s Natalie Holt, and subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: Vanity Fair
