Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, was a first in several ways for Star Wars. Not only was it the first anthology film, telling the story of how the Death Star plans were stolen by the Rebel Alliance, but it was also the first Star Wars film to be scored by someone other than John Williams. Instead, scoring duties went to Michael Giacchino (after Alexandre Desplat had to pull out), which had me excited but very nervous. While I’m a big fan of Giacchino’s work, the music of Star Wars has always had a special place in my heart and I was very nervous that the soundtrack wouldn’t live up to the high bar set by John Williams in the past.

I shouldn’t have worried because, as the scoring session linked above shows, quite a bit of care went into putting the score for Rogue One together. Giacchino was careful (for the most part) to interweave Williams’ famous music with his own creations, creating a sound that is definitely Star Wars, but also new. I’ve always enjoyed watching videos of scoring sessions, I have a goal that someday I’ll be able to watch one (or at least part of one) in person. I hope you enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at the scoring of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Let me know what you think about Rogue One in the comments below and have a great day!

See also:

Michael Giacchino talks The Incredibles (2004)

Michael Giacchino talks Mission: Impossible 3 (2006)

Michael Giacchino talks Ratatouille (2007)

Michael Giacchino talks Up (2009)

Michael Giacchino talks Star Trek (2009)

Michael Giacchino talks Super 8 (2011)

Michael Giacchino talks John Carter (2012)

Michael Giacchino talks Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)

Michael Giacchino talks Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Michael Giacchino talks Jurassic World (2015)

Michael Giacchino talks Zootopia (2016)

Michael Giacchino talks Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

Film Composer Interviews A-H

Film Composer Interviews K-Z

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook