‘Succession’ Composer Nicholas Britell Has Been Working On Music For Tony Gilroy’s ‘Andor’ For Two Years

Lots of news broke yesterday at the “Star Wars Experience” convention in Anaheim about Tony Gilroy’s upcoming “Star Wars” show “Andor.” And the biggest news of the day was about the scale of the series. There will be not one but two twelve-episode seasons of the “Rogue One” prequel, with season one premiering on the streamer in August.

READ MORE: ‘Andor’ Trailer: Tony Gilroy, Diego Luna & More Tell The Origin Of A ‘Star Wars’ Rebel Spy

But today, Variety has more big news about the show, regarding a much different kind of scale.  Nicolas Britell, three-time Oscar nominee and Emmy Award-winning composer, provides music for the “Star Wars” series. Moreover, the “Succession” composer has been working hard on “Andor” for two years already, working closely with Gilroy in New York since August 2020.

“I’m writing all the score and also their source music,” Britell told Variety. Gilroy reached out to Britell months before he started shooting the series so the composer could write “source music” for the show. Not a bad idea for a show with such a massive scope. “Andor” gets its name from rebel spy Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna, but the show traces his origin story through the uprising against the Empire that spans the galaxy and its many planets. So, lots of different locales and characters are in need of distinctive musical themes and soundscapes.

“Without giving anything away,” Britell continued, “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.” In other words, there’s a lot of ground for Britell to cover with his music, and the time and freedom to do so are critical. “There were a few moments that Tony wanted to figure out early… a few very specific moments,” Britell said. “Experimentation is really crucial to the composing process; you don’t know until you try things out.”

A big question is how similar Britell’s compositions will be to John Williams‘ legendary “Star Wars” themes. Britell provided an answer: “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.” That feels on par with other recent “Star Wars” projects like “The Mandalorian” and “The Book Of Boba Fett,” both of which add unusual and distinctive sounds and layers to their scores. But with recording sessions happening now at London’s AIR Lyndhurst studios, whose rooms may hold up to 80-90 musicians at a time, expect “Andor” to still have a grand, symphonic quality associated with the Williams score.

It’s hard not to be already excited for “Andor” with Tony Gilroy at the helm, but the addition of Britell is big news indeed. Just how epic will this show be? Audiences find out on August 31, when the show’s first season premieres on Disney+.