Spoiler alert: This article details the plot of The Mandalorian and Grogu, currently in theaters.
Back in 2019, when writer and director Jon Favreau asked composer Ludwig Göransson to score The Mandalorian TV series for Disney+, Göransson used new tools and introduced new sounds to the Star Wars universe. Its distinctive, lone bass recorder became the helmeted bounty hunter’s theme, while his sidekick Grogu had a four-note motif.
Building on Göransson’s previous work, the score for ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu’ saw him without hesitation, using a 70-piece orchestra to weave in elements of the film’s sound design to achieve an epic cinematic score.
The film is a sequel to the series, and follows Din Djarin (also known as Mando) and Grogu as they travel through a galaxy recovering from the collapse of the Galactic Empire, with Imperial generals scattered across the land. The fledgling New Republic seeks help from a bounty hunter and his young apprentice, working to protect what the Rebellion fought for.
Göransson’s “This Is the Way” opens the film with an eight-minute cue that exemplifies how he weaves in alarm-like sounds using percussion and synthesizers. “When I first saw Mando, there was an alarm going off in the building. I was using the alarm as part of the music and timing the alarm with the music,” he says.
When Lotta the Hutt is kidnapped and held captive on the new planet Shakari, Göransson plays hard on an electro synth. Combined with an orchestra and Mando’s bass recorder, it’s a sound reminiscent of Childish Gambino’s (Donald Glover’s musical stage name) days as a producer. “When I first started working with John, he had just finished The Lion King and was working with Donald. They were talking about me, but John was always excited and interested in the other side of me creating beats. I think he was interested in how we could bring that side to Star Wars.”
As soon as Goransson saw Shakari and its neon visuals on screen, he said, “It reminded me of that type of synthesizer.” He added, “That’s what’s interesting about Star Wars and The Mandalorian.” The worlds they go to have so many different and interesting worlds, including different planets, creatures, and music. They can take it anywhere and John and Dave are always excited to see where it goes. ”
Lotta the Hutt (voiced by Jeremy Allen White) had a theme that matched his extraordinary energy. Electric guitar and vocals form the basis of its sound. In one scene, Din Djarin and Lotta are in a gladiatorial arena during a “dejarik match” against creatures whose sole purpose is to kill them. Musically, Göransson got the crowd to sing along for the cue titled “The Pit Fight,” which featured a mix of drum beats and more electronic synths. The inspiration came from the 1990s show “American Gladiator,” which he remembers watching as a child. “I think that was my inspiration in terms of the emotion I wanted to evoke.”
Göransson faced the most difficult musical sequence: finding the right sound for the third act, which centers around Grogu.
Much of the action revolves around Grogu. Din Djarin is poisoned by a deadly dragon snake and falls into a coma, leaving Grogu to fend for himself while watching over his friends.
“I didn’t know exactly how to approach that scene because it was quite a long sequence. I remember sitting on it for a long time, trying out different ideas and writing something completely new,” he says.
This scene had very little dialogue. “I put a lot of pressure on myself to write that and finish it. It wasn’t until the last day before I scored that I finally calmed down and understood what I needed. I did it once with that four-note theme. But I took my time and tried it over and over again, and on the last day I sat there and thought, “Okay, I’m going to use this theme for this whole scene.” See where it takes me. ”
As he watched the scene, everything came together. Göransson felt drawn to the visuals. “He’s sitting there meditating, and it’s such a beautiful moment. You can follow him from his perspective and see what he does when he’s alone. Now he’s in charge. It becomes his adventure.”
The scene gave him an opportunity to explore Grogu’s themes and “bring it to a different place and really expand on it and tell the story,” he says. The lack of dialogue allowed Göransson to let the music speak for him. “You can tell what’s going on, what he’s thinking, what’s going on, how he’s feeling. There’s a little bit of magic there, and I thought it would be really fun to tell that musical story. It’s like a ‘Peter and the Wolf’ moment, using some of the woodwinds to make the bird sounds.”
He believes it’s “really special” for orchestras to collaborate with musicians. “We had plenty of time to record, and all of the musicians who played on the original score seven years ago came back. At the time, we didn’t know that The Mandalorian theme would become canon and part of everyone’s world. It was a great experience to have the musicians come back and be able to experience this music again in LA. It also allowed many of the musicians to shine at different moments with solos on different instruments.”
Goransson says he had fun writing the score. In one musical moment, he said: “I got to play a Django Reinhardt-style jazz guitar version of the Mandalorian theme with my old guitar teacher Andreas Oberg from Stockholm. It was a great experience.”
Next, Göransson ventures into another realm, reuniting with Christopher Nolan in “The Odyssey.” Therefore, Nolan instructed Göransson not to use an orchestra in the score. He told Time magazine: “Orchestras didn’t exist at the time. … It was a challenge and the beginning of trying to create something unique.” Instead, Göransson borrowed 35 bronze gongs of various sizes, experimented, and recorded with a synthesizer.
Does he want to record his own album or produce more music?
Göransson says, “It’s also a way for me to kind of learn things, and working with artists and producing artists and working with other musicians is a great way for me. I love that part of my process because you get to develop a good technique and learn more about that technique and learn more about new ways of working and new sounds.”
What he finds most rewarding about scoring is that his kids are old enough to be passionate about his work. “They listen to everything I play, but what’s really fun is that they’re both learning to play the theme on the piano.” He added, “When you listen to the soundtrack, you can literally understand the story of the movie.” He goes on to say, “More than any other soundtrack I’ve made, you can follow every scene and know exactly what’s going on just by listening.”
