The verdict is finally out on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final part of the contemporary trilogy and the ninth film now closing this chapter in the seminal characters’ world.
But beyond reviews, including NME’s own which called The Rise of Skywalker “a fan-focused finale that will leave the franchise’s core audience roaring like Wookiees with delight,” director JJ Abrams revealed a collaboration with Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda on new music for the film.
The news was revealed on Twitter, when a fan spotted a credit for Miranda after seeing a preview of the film, and enquired – to which the musician replied with a handful of shifty-eye emojiis.
Miranda then confirmed the collaboration himself yesterday, starting with “NOW IT CAN BE TOLD??”
NOW IT CAN BE TOLD??@jjabrams & I wrote a lil music for a planet in #TheRiseOfSkywalker
It’s got a nice beat & you can dance to it.
Can’t wait to see it this weekend! pic.twitter.com/vKuoNtYgkw— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) December 17, 2019
Miranda also wrote music for Abrams on Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015. Abrams had said that Miranda approached him directly, saying: “If you need music for the cantina, I’ll write it.”
Elsewhere, following a big year for Miranda with a key role in BBC’s His Dark Materials as Lee Scoresby, the polymath is gearing up for an even busier 2020, as Miranda will star in, produce, and compose music for the screen adaptation of his Tony-winning musical In the Heights.
While the first reviews of The Rise of Skywalker have been mixed, another film of the current era, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story made it onto NME’s list of the Best Films of the Decade.
