This is the explanation they have given for why they did not use the original Star Wars music in the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series.
In an interview given to ScreenRantthe composer of the series Obi-Wan Kenobi, Natalie Holtexplained that it was actually the director’s decision deborah chow don’t use classic themes starwars. The original music of John Williams does not sound until the last scene of the series of Darth Vader in Moustafar. This was premeditated, an artistic choice, a decision thought out, valued and made with time. And, despite this, it has become one of the biggest critics against the series of Disney+.
“When I started working on this project, we weren’t sure if we were allowed to use John Williams’ songs,” explained the composer of Obi-Wan Kenobi about the music of Star Wars. “Deborah Chow said to me, ‘I think we have to write the show as if we can’t use them.’ She said, ‘I don’t want to find out later that we can’t, so let’s make it work without it. We believe our own.”
“She explained this: ‘Actually, if we’re going to use the Darth Vader theme, I don’t think we should use it until the last episode, because it’s still half Anakin, half Vader at this point. When his mask breaks at the end and he says ‘You didn’t kill Anakin Skywalker, I did,’ you realize he’s Vader now. He now earned his Imperial March ‘”, continued the composer of Obi-Wan Kenobi about the Star Wars music problem. “That’s why when you listen to it, it’s so powerful. Deborah Chow didn’t want that theme to play every time you saw Darth Vader. She wanted to explore his journey to get there.”
Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into Darth Vader
In fact, there was a desire not to lean too heavily on the original Star Wars songs. Instead, they wanted to be more subtle when adding them, in a way that would connect and enhance the story of Obi-Wan Kenobi. As such, the accompanying score for Darth Vader reflects the villain’s furious state.
“I used the Imperial March under the sound design,” said the composer of Obi-Wan Kenobi. «He had a hunting horn and a slowed-down double bass. The bottom end of the orchestra was playing this really twisted angry Star Wars theme, with war sticks and stuff like that. Deborah Chow wanted to make a really visceral sense of it. When she was walking down the street killing people, she said to me, ‘We’ve never seen this side of Vader. He is at his best. He is super furious, full of rage.’ In fact, the Vader we see in A New Hope and onward is much more measured. We never see him lose control or kill random people in such a macabre way. He is more thoughtful and focused. So yeah, this was a very deliberate decision.”