Rogue One: A Star Warsstory is facing some new shakeups in the wake of the film’s prolonged reshoots. The bad news: incredible Oscar-winning composerAlexandre Desplatwill no longer create the score for the firstStar Warsstandalone film. The good news: incredible Oscar-winning composerMichael Giacchinowill take his place.
As you probably know by now,Rogue Oneunderwent extensive reshoots over the summer, pushing production a number of weeks, and according to THR, that schedule shakeup also altered the scoring calendar. Desplat, who previously composedArgoandThe Grand Budapest Hotel,was no longer available to score. In the search for a new composer, Disney and Lucasfilm turned to Giacchino, who has a long history with the studio.
Giacchino’s most beloved work has come out of his collaboration with Pixar on the filmsThe Incredibles,Ratatouille,Up,Cars 2, andInside Out(taking home an Academy Award for his stunning work onUp). He also scored this year’s Disney Animation breakoutZootopia, and has previously worked with the live-action division onSky High,John Carter, andTomorrowland. He’ll make his Marvel debut later this year withDoctor Strange, and now that he’s traveling the galaxies forRogue One, Giacchino will have officially put his stamp on all four of Disney’s film divisions.
Giacchino, a self-professedStar Warsfan who previouslypenned an odetoJohn Williams' legendary work on theStar Warsscores, is also a career-long collaborator ofJ.J. Abramsand had a cameo as a storm trooper inThe Force Awakens. Fittingly, he now becomes the first composer to work on aStar Warsmovie besides Williams.
It certainly seems like Rogue One has been through the ringer ahead of its December 16th release, and while I’m extremely dubious about the studio’s claims that the reshoots consisted of minor details (especially considering how significantly it shifted the schedule, as the composer shake-up demonstrates), Giacchino’s addition is a promising indication that everyone on board is still trying to make this movie great. And honestly, a Giacchino-composed Star Wars film is kind of a dream come true.
What do you guys think? Is Giacchino the guy to take over the job? Sad to see Desplat go? Sound off in the comments.
