A couple of weeks ago, a rumor surfaced that the all-important first teaser for Star Wars: Episode IX would be premiering at next year’s Super Bowl, on February 3rd, and that John Williams was composing a score specifically for this promo that included elements from the Prequel Trilogy soundtrack. While we’ve since received no real evidence to back up these claims, EpicStream has offered an update in this line of conjecture, saying that the trailer could be delayed as a result of Williams recently falling ill.
The news came out earlier this week that the legendary composer had to pull out of a concert he was expected to conduct this Friday due to poor health, though a statement issued by Williams’ management on the Royal Albert Hall website has implied that the Academy Award winner is on the road to recovery. This latest report, however, suggests that the incident could postpone the completion of the trailer music and therefore push back its launch date.
Of course, this is largely speculation, and with no official release date set for the teaser, it’ll be hard to get a good read of how this recent news will influence the roll-out, if at all. In any case, we hope that Williams will be back in good health before too long.
While the composer has been involved in many Star Wars soundtracks over the decades, what’s special about Episode IX is that it’s set to be Williams’ final job for the franchise. As he himself said earlier this year:
“We know J.J. Abrams is preparing (Episode IX) now, that I will hopefully do next year for him. I look forward to it. It will round out a series of nine (films). That will be quite enough for me. Disney Studios probably will take it further. As you know, Disney has acquired the rights for Lucasfilm, and they will probably continue on through… decades, possibly, doing Star Wars-related attractions.”
We’ll find out how Abrams and Williams plan to bring this era to a close when Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters on December 20th, 2019.