Ahsoka composer Kevin Kiner discussed his Star Wars influences for the Disney+ series at Deadline’s Sound & Screen Television live-music event. He also revealed an homage to Star Wars composer John Williams in episode 5.
“I kind of do this Williams lick,” Kiner said during a panel discussion. “I know every single piece of John Williams music in Star Wars and I didn’t do it exactly. I didn’t plagiarize, him but I knew the scale he was using and stuff.”
Although Williams retired from Star Wars after The Rise of Skywalker and never directly worked on the Disney+ and Lucasfilm Ltd TV series, Kiner said there’s no avoiding Williams DNA in that universe.
“You do have to pay homage,” Kiner said. “It just harkens to the magic of the old Star Wars. We are very careful about how we use John Williams’ feel and stuff.”
George Lucas sold his Star Wars studio Lucasfilm to Disney, but Kiner said he was scoring the animated series The Clone Wars and Rebels while it was still under Lucas. So he still follows Lucas’ direction.
“He would always say ‘impending doom,’” Kiner said. “It was the most common phrase out of George Lucas. I’m like, ‘Okay, let’s go.’ “
Kiner wrote Ahsoka’s theme in 2006 for Clone Wars. Rosario Dawson debuted as the live-action Ashoka Tano in an episode of Disney+/Lucasfilm’s The Book of Boba Fett before getting her own series. Now Kiner works with his children, Sean and Dina, who added a samurai motif for the live-action series.
“They’re on the piano one day,” Kiner said. “They were coming up with this samurai vibe because Dave Filoni, the [Ahsoka] showrunner, wanted a samurai. George Lucas, Dave Filoni, they’re so into Japanese cinema. So they came up with that groove which I never would have come up with that groove myself, so that’s my children.”
Check back Monday for the panel video.
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