To mark the 10th Anniversary of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which premiered on December 18th, 2015, Kelly Knox, writing at StarWars.com, looks at how Rey’s Theme brought legendary composer John Williams back the the Star Wars galaxy.
Of all the exquisite Star Wars themes composed by John Williams over the decades, only one has the honor of being played during the first violin solo in space. Performed by Sarah Gillis during a privately crewed Polaris Dawn mission in 2024, “Rey’s Theme” has already become a classic in the decade since the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
“Rey’s Theme” is also the favorite of a certain golden protocol droid.
C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels recently placed it at number one in his top five favorite Star Wars pieces. “[The theme] absolutely captures Rey’s youthfulness,” he told Star Wars Insider for the February 2025 issue. “And then of course it develops into a much deeper orchestral thing that takes us part way through her story. I absolutely love it.”
But, perhaps most surprising of all, the now iconic piece of music powerfully embodies the character who kept bringing John Williams back to Star Wars until her story in the Skywalker saga was finished.
When we first meet the masked scavenger in The Force Awakens, there’s notably no music in the scene. Their feet echo in the dusty husk of a Star Destroyer; their rope creaks as it swings behind them. It’s not until the mask comes off that we see it’s a young woman, undaunted by either the derelict ship or the Jakku desert, and then the music begins — made even more impactful by breaking the silence on screen.
“I fell in love immediately with Daisy Ridley [who plays Rey]. She is just a superstar born,” Williams told the Los Angeles Times in a 2015 interview. “[The theme] suggests a female adventurer, but with great strength,” he continued. “She’s a fighter, she’s infused with the Force, and it needed to be something that was strong but thoughtful.”
A lonely flute marks the start, and then the first notes of the “Rey’s Theme” melody begin in earnest. The lightly tapped xylophone bars feel just as youthful as the hero we’re meeting for the first time, emphasized by her playful — and also practical — makeshift sled that carries her quickly down a sand dune.
As the strings swell, they echo the same determination as the scavenger while she loads her distinctive speeder. While the subsequent action echoes imagery Star Wars fans have seen before — our favorite Skywalker heroes, Luke and Anakin, speeding across the desert sands — “Rey’s Theme” makes this scene all Rey. Her presence and tenacity is felt in every minute of the film she’s in, and Williams ascribes that feeling directly to Ridley.
But for all of Rey’s toughness and brilliance,the music also touches on her vulnerability. “This is a girl who’s been a scavenger, she’s been alone and without her parents. I felt a lot of empathy,” he has said.
Williams realized he was “completely smitten” with the character when he was approached to talk about composing the score for the sequel, Episode VIII.
“[Disney] asked me if I would do the next episode of Star Wars,” Williams told the audience at a 2016 Hollywood Bowl concert. “I thought I wanted to think about it for a minute, but then I made up my mind – because I didn’t want anybody else writing music for Rey.”
Read the article in full here, and stream Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Disney+.
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