Last summer, legendary composer John Williams said his score for the upcoming “Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny” would be the last of his storied career. Now it appears he spoke too soon. The Playlist can report that the 90-year-old won’t retire from film music after all, confirming his decision at a special event with Steven Spielberg on Thursday night.
“I’ll stick around for awhile,” Williams said during the sit-down with Spielberg. “I can’t retire from music. A day without music is a mistake.” If Williams indeed retired after the next “Indiana Jones” movie, his score for Spielberg’s new film “The Fabelmans” would have been his penultimate. Williams and Spielberg have worked together for over fifty years, and the composer cites his working relationship with the director as a major reason he won’t retire. “One thing Steven isn’t is a man you can say no to,” Williams joked onstage. Spielberg, laughing, responded, “I just found out he’s not retiring.”
But what will Williams work on next when it comes to film music? It appears neither the composer nor the director knows their next projects. Spielberg has a new take on the story of legendary San Francisco detective Frank Bullitt, immortalized in 1968’s “Bullitt” with Steve McQueen. Bradley Cooper‘s name has emerged as the project’s potential leading man. Maybe Williams and Spielberg will collaborate on that?
Whatever their next film together is, Williams sees Spielberg’s father, who worked at the Shoah foundation until he was over 100 years old, as inspiration. “I’ve got ten years to go,” Williams joked to Spielberg. Ten more years of Williams film scores? Moviegoers should be so lucky. But before Spielberg and Williams embark on their next projects, let’s see how “The Fabelmans” continues to do during awards season.
