John Williams is the architect behind some of cinema’s most famous scores. Williams is the composer behind the music in Jaws, Indiana Jones, Superman, Jurassic Park, and Star Wars. Speaking of Star Wars, Williams recently spoke about a serious mistake he made while scoring a scene with Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker in A New Hope.
Why Did John Williams Mistakenly Write A Star Wars Love Theme for Leia and Luke?
In the third Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi, Luke learns Leia is his twin sister. However, George Lucas did not inform Williams about Luke and Leia’s relationship during A New Hope’s production. Therefore, Williams composed a romantic arrangement for the two leads.
“I mistakenly wrote a love theme for Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker,” Williams told Variety. “I learned later that they were brother and sister, so it was an incestuous idea to have a love theme for them. But George never told us there was going to be a second film!”
In Williams’ defense, Luke and Leia shared a passionate kiss in The Empire Strikes Back, so the idea of those two being siblings was illogical. While his music on Star Wars: A New Hope resulted in the Oscar win for Best Orginal Score, Williams later reconstructed a new theme for Leia without romantic ties to her brother.
Williams scored all nine episodic Star Wars films and Solo: A Star Wars Story. Rogue One is the only Star Wars film released in theaters without music from Williams.
At 92, Williams is still working in Hollywood. His score for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny earned Williams his record-breaking 54th Oscar nomination. Williams is expected to be in attendance at the 2024 Oscars.
