Like so many kids of the 1970s and ‘80s who would one day become filmmakers, composer Brandon Roberts (Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving) wanted to go into the movie business because of Star Wars. His eyes and, more importantly, his ears were opened to the wonderful possibilities of cinema when his mother took him to see The Empire Strikes Back. It may be hard to believe, but it’s been nearly half a century since the galactic sequel shockingly revealed that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father.
“Even though I was probably way too young to be seeing that movie, that’s the entire reason I got into film composing in the first place,” Roberts tells me over a Zoom call. “I think I’m probably a member of a very non-exclusive club of people my age that got into film music mainly because of John Williams.”
Given that the game-changing space opera was the entire reason he pursued an entertainment career, saying yes to scoring the second and final season of Lucasfilm’s Andor television series (new episodes drop on Disney+ every Tuesday) was, perhaps, the easiest decision of Roberts’ career. “This was definitely a full-circle event,” he notes. “Andor, in my opinion, could exist outside of the Star Wars universe as a story on its own. I think it lent itself to a bit more musical exploration and a bit more musical freedom.”
***WARNING! The following contains mild spoilers for Season 2 of Andor!***
Naturally, it was a little intimidating to inherit the show’s music duties from fellow Emmy Award-winner Nicholas Britell, who had already established a unique, synth-inspired musical palette for the acclaimed Rogue One prequel centered around the exploits of Rebel spy Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) prior to his final mission of stealing the Death Star blueprints on Scarif. During Roberts’ initial meeting with Oscar-nominated creator/showrunner Tony Gilroy, the newly-hired composer was instructed to maintain Britell’s contributions, while simultaneously fleshing them out and gradually building toward the sound Michael Giacchino had established for Rogue One.
“[Tony] said, ‘The DNA is set from Season 1 in terms of the palette and everyone likes the palette,’” Roberts remembers. “’So we want to use some of those themes that Nick had done, and we want to expand on them. But then we also need new thematic material because the story is opening up. The characters are opening up; the whole thing is becoming more expansive and developing. We need new thematic material for some of these new planets … If you can maintain that DNA, but then also expand upon it and bring your own voice to it, then I think we can do this.’”
He continues: “I truly tried to maintain musical continuity coming out of Season 1, but then also slowly segued into the palette for Rogue One, which is very orchestral. There was a bit of sleight of hand that happens over the course of the episodes — mainly in the latter half … It’s very much a hybrid score that slowly transitions more and more into [an] orchestral [one] by the time you get to the eleventh and twelfth episodes.”
Season 2 of Andor doesn’t just hint at the 2016 spinoff movie, it literally tees up the events of Rogue One with a number of year-long time jumps that bring the story closer and closer to what we know will be Cassian’s tragically inevitable doom. Roberts, who scored the 12 episodes in blocks of three, saw the shifting timeline “a gift,” rather than a challenge. The “mini-arcs” contained within each chunk offered a new opportunity.
“Each block has its own musical identity,” he explains. “That’s partially dictated by the story, the planets, and the situation. But it was also something that Tony and I got to lean into a little bit. So for example, when you get to [the third block], it starts to get super dark, super low. When you get to [fourth block], all of a sudden, you’re almost entering into elements of very emotional music because you’re wrapping all of these things up.”
Despite the immense pressure of having to honor two other composers without losing his own voice, Roberts still found the time to enjoy himself. How could he not? It was freakin’ Star Wars! One of his biggest pinch-me moments, for instance, involved writing music for Yavin 4 (iconic home of the Rebel Alliance prior to Empire Strikes Back) and the thrilling TIE fighter escape that opens the season. “I got to go back to my childhood and actually write a Yavin theme, which was a wonderful opportunity with a very high intimidation level,” the composer admits. “But then also, the TIE Fighter chase. The 4-year-old kid in me [was thrilled].”
And then, of course, there’s all the diegetic music endemic to the galaxy far, far away. In-universe tunes have been a staple of the franchise, ever since Luke and Obi-Wan entered the Mos Eisley Cantina to the jazzy Outer Rim stylings of Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes. Andor is no exception. “It’s so essential to the world building,” stresses Roberts, who called on everything from a Hungarian cimbalom, to the Indonesian angklung, to industrial hubcaps. “It’s always a challenge first to try to make something that works in each of those scenes diegetically, but then you have to kind of warp it for Star Wars. There’s always something uncanny in there that’s a little off-kilter.”
In further keeping with Star Wars tradition, the music was recorded in London, with production returning to British Grove Studios. “I was smiling ear-to-ear throughout that first recording session, because I’m literally hearing music for a Star Wars show that I got to write being recorded in London by the best musicians in the world,” Roberts concludes. “It just doesn’t get any better than that.”
ew episodes of Andor drop on Disney+ every Tuesday.
