What’s a Star Wars film without John Williams?

The legendary composer has scored all previous seven episodes of the Star Wars franchise (sorry, Rogue One), and now Williams is officially returning for Rian Johnson‘s Star Wars: Episode VIII. It’s not totally surprising since Steven Spielberg already revealed the news when he announced Williams would also score Indiana Jones 5, and because who else would compose music for the next Star Wars installment?

During a recent performance with the Boston Pops orchestra, the composer confirmed the news telling the audience he would begin his work on the new Star Wars in a few weeks, according to Masslive. And Star Wars fans can thank Daisy Ridley for his return. The composer said he accepted Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy’s invitation to return after The Force Awakens because he loved Ridley’s performance as Rey so much he didn’t want anyone else to score her scenes. After hearing his Oscar nominated “Rey’s Theme,” neither do we.

Williams’ score for The Force Awakens brought him his 50th Oscar nomination, and I’m sure that number will only continue to grow. So far, spinoff Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be the only Star Wars film not scored by Williams, and instead feature music from Alexandre Desplat (who’s still a great choice).

Episode VIII will feature the return of Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher along with the rest of The Force Awakens cast. Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro will also star in unknown roles. The film wrapped production last month and Williams has already seen a cut of the new movie and we’ve yet to see any official footage beyond Johnson’s behind-the-scenes sneak peeks. Fingers crossed with get a teaser scored by Williams soon.

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