‘Cruella’ Composer Nicholas Britell Scoring ‘Andor’

Yesterday, During Star Wars Celebration we received the first trailer for the Disney+ Rogue One prequel series, Andor. Now, we know who the next composer is joining the Star Wars universe.

According to Variety, Cruella composer, Nicholas Britell is attached to score the series. Britell has been quietly working on the series for the last two years. He is currently in New York putting the finishing touches on the score and shared some details with the trade, stating showrunner Tony Gilroy is who brought him onto the project.

“It’s definitely orchestral-plus, I would say. Orchestra features heavily in it. There’s a wide range of sounds, and I’ve created a lot of new sounds. There are strings and brass, but there’s also lots of other stuff too. Without giving anything away, I would say that [executive producer] Kathy Kennedy, [creator and showrunner] Tony Gilroy, everyone right from the beginning, felt it was very important that we craft a unique set of sounds for this story, for the characters, for the world we’re creating here. So there’s been a lot of conversation, but actually a lot of freedom too, for me to explore things. Everyone’s on the same page about having a specific set of soundscape textures, sound worlds, for this. “The scope of the series is massive. Every episode has new demands, new music, and new ideas. It’s important that as the story evolves, the music should evolve too. We’ve been working nonstop for months, actually years, at this point. I don’t think there’s a composer out there who could say that they weren’t in some way inspired by, or affected by, the music of the ‘Star Wars’ universe.”

Nicholas Britell

Britell has also scored both of Barry Jenkins’s studio films, Moonlight (2016) and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), both of which received nominations for Best Original Score at the Academy Awards. He has also worked with Adam McKay, scoring his three most recent films, The Big Short (2015), Vice (2018), and Don’t Look Up (2021), the latter receiving a nomination for Best Original Score at the Academy Awards and the Hollywood Music in Media award for Best Original Score.

The Andor series will explore a new perspective from the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor’s journey to discover the difference he can make. The series brings forward the tale of the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how people and planets became involved. It’s an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue where Cassian will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero.

Diego Luna returns as Cassian Andor and is joined by cast members Genevieve O’Reilly, Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Denise Gough and Kyle Soller. The executive producers are Kathleen Kennedy, Sanne Wohlenberg, Diego Luna and Michelle Rejwan. Tony Gilroy is the creator and showrunner.

Andor launches exclusively on Disney+ August 31, with the first two episodes. 

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