If you ask the average person to name film composers, its likely they can't recall anymore than a handful. But there's one composer who's globally known for his astronomical impact on the history of film, and thats John Williams himself. Known for his work on E.T., Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, Superman, Star Wars, and many more iconic musical scores alongside his frequent collaborator Steven Spielberg. While he may but up there in years, Williams has no plans of stopping his work on several upcoming films, two of which fans will be relieved to hear he is returning for.
The news came thanks to the tribute for John Williams last night where he won an AFI life time achievement award. Williams was interviewed by Variety in which he revealed his intentions to return for Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII, which is currently in production. Williams has already spoken to producer Kathleen Kennedy about returning, and comically says he doesn't want anyone but himself writing music for Daisy Ridley. Sounds fair enough considering the fantastic piece he put together for Rey's theme in Force Awakens.
As for the Indiana Jones 5 news, Spielberg himself had the honor of making that reveal. When interviewed by Scott Manz of Access Hollywood, Spielberg confirmed that he will be reuniting with Williams for the fifth installment. This seemed to be a no brainer with Spielberg returning to the director's chair, and Harrison Ford returning as Jones himself despite rumors that he would be replaced by a younger actor. Spielberg seems to be wanting to recapture the magic of the original films by reuniting everyone involved including Williams.
While Williams did not return to compose Jurassic World which wasn't directed by Spielberg, his relationship with the director seems to be the key to his return to the Indy series. Williams has already been confirmed to collaborate with Spielberg on two of his upcoming films; BFG and Ready Player One. We can now add Indiana Jones 5 to that list, and we can probably expect for the two of them to continue to work together for the entirety of their careers.
So are you happy to hear John Williams is returning to compose these upcoming sequels? Are there any other composers you would've like to see get the gig? Let us know below!
