John Williams finally gets a Star Wars movie cameo in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Other than George Lucas, Williams is arguably the most important contributor to the iconic franchise. His memorable soundtracks helped elevate the films to new heights, turning them into rousing, crowd-pleasing space adventures. For more than four decades, Williams has provided fans with a bevy of classic compositions, including the main Star Wars theme, “The Imperial March,” “Duel of the Fates,” and “Rey’s Theme.” It’s impossible to picture the Star Wars movies without Williams’ fantastic music.
The Rise of Skywalker marked the end of an era for Star Wars, closing out the Skywalker saga that’s defined the property since 1977. It also was Williams’ Star Wars swan song, as he strongly hinted The Rise of Skywalker would be his last installment in the series. But before he retires from the galaxy far, far away, Williams was given the opportunity to (finally) appear on-camera in a Star Wars movie.
Williams’ short cameo in The Rise of Skywalker comes when Zorii Bliss leads Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and C-3PO to Babu Frik on Kijimi. As the group walks through the latest seedy Star Wars establishment, it cuts to a close-up of the bartender, who is played by none other than Williams. He doesn’t speak any lines, but this was still a nice touch by director J.J. Abrams, showing his appreciation for all Williams has done for Star Wars.
This is hardly the first time someone from behind-the-scenes appeared on camera in a Star Wars movie. During the days of the original trilogy, prominent crew members like Ben Burtt and Robert Watts were given cameos, and George Lucas himself was seen in Revenge of the Sith. The Disney-era Star Wars films have their fair share of crew cameos as well, most notably Gareth Edwards having small roles in his own Rogue One and Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi (coincidentally, Johnson also played an Imperial on the Death Star in Rogue One). Even The Mandalorian continues this practice, with the likes of Dave Filoni, Deborah Chow, and Rick Famuyiwa portraying X-wing pilots in an episode. Surely, any future Star Wars projects will find a place for the hard-working crew.
While The Rise of Skywalker itself earned a mixed reception from critics and fans, Williams once again delivered stellar work. He received yet another Oscar nomination for his original score, the 52nd of his illustrious career. Williams is a vital part of the fabric of Star Wars (he also provided music for Galaxy’s Edge and Solo: A Star Wars Story) and there’s clearly no replacing him. His contributions to the franchise will be missed, but Star Wars should continue to have memorable scores in Williams’ absence. One only has to look at The Mandalorian’s now-iconic main theme as evidence.
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