Star Wars Episode 7 - 7 Composers Who Could Replace John Williams

4. Hans Zimmer

Why Him? He's Hans Freaking Zimmer for one. For two, he just finished up a stint on one of the biggest and best trilogies of all time (you know the one), teaming up with James Newton Howard for the first two, and going it alone for The Dark Knight Rises. His score for TDKR was nothing short of amazing, and overall he's never been better than he is right now. His scores for the Sherlock Holmes series have displayed a sense of whimsy that he would need to bring to Star Wars, and we all know he can do booming action scenes like nobody's business. The one thing that could count against him, and it's minor, is his tendency to use less brass than most typical Star Wars scores. However, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was a terrific score that's one of his best, and that would probably be more in line with what we'd get from a Zimmer Star Wars - more so than his Batman work anyway. He's also one more composer on this list who's jumped into an existing franchise with existing musical themes and turned out great work in the process - Pirates 2 & 3, Batman (though this one doesn't count as much), and the upcoming Man of Steel. The interesting thing about Man of Steel is he initially stated he didn't want the job, because the original theme - by who else, but John Williams - was so iconic, and the job of composing the score would be "unenviable." But he ended up taking it anyway. Maybe he'll have the same attitude toward Star Wars.
Contributor
Contributor

Lifelong lover of film. Married to a wonderful woman, newly 30, and a brand new father of a beautiful baby boy. Writer, editor, director, and all around savage beast.