Star Wars 9’s Marketing Uses Prequel Music – What That Means For Rise of Skywalker

Disney used music from the Star Wars prequels in one of the latest promotional videos for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Fans all over the world are currently preparing for the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final chapter in the Skywalker saga and the sequel trilogy,. The Star Wars universe began its run in 1977 with Star Wars: A New Hope, followed by Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, forming what’s collectively known as the “original trilogy”.

The Star Wars franchise expanded to other media before returning to the big screen with the prequel trilogy, released between 1999 and 2005. Unlike the original films, the prequels weren’t that well received, with some fans even choosing to forget they’re part of the saga. The one that has gotten the most criticism is Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, with most viewers finding the story to be boring and characters like Jar Jar Binks to be just a marketing device. But even if The Phantom Menace is not a favorite among fans (and critics), it’s still part of the Skywalker saga – and Disney wants you to remember that.

With just a couple more weeks to go before the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Disney has been sharing a couple of promotional videos inviting viewers to purchase tickets on pre-sale. Nothing out of the ordinary on that, except that the latest video has music from the prequels.

What Using Prequel Music Means For Star Wars 9

The video doesn’t give any new plot details away, but it has caught the attention of fans as the music used in it comes from the prequel trilogy. The theme is “Duel of the Fates”, composed by John Williams for the soundtrack of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, specifically to represent the duel in Theed between Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn (with Obi-Wan Kenobi by his side). The piece was also used in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, when Anakin Skywalker travels to Tatooine to search for his mother, and in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, during the battle between Yoda and Emperor Palpatine and the simultaneous battle between Anakin and Obi-Wan on Mustafar. The promo combines “Duel of the Fates” with “The Imperial March”, bringing together the original and prequel trilogies – at least in terms of music.

As Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the closing chapter in the Skywalker saga, it’s quite symbolic that the studio is using music from the prequels in its final promo videos. With this, Disney is not only creating a bigger connection between all the films, but it’s also showing that it’s embracing the prequels and their legacy. The prequels are not the strongest films in the Star Wars saga, but they expanded on the story of many characters, especially Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, and are an important part in the history of the Skywalker saga – and what better way to honor and acknowledge them than by adding a piece of them to the final film.