Han Solo and the Princess is a musical theme composed by John Williams and played by the London Symphony Orchestra for The Empire Strikes Back.
It is the love theme of Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa, most prominently played during those characters' romantic encounter aboard the Millennium Falcon in the belly of the space slug. It is reused in a more dramatic manner as Solo is frozen in carbonite in Cloud City. It is played in Return of the Jedi when Leia reveals herself to Han after freeing him from the carbonite in Jabba's Palace, and also immediately following the destruction of the second Death Star, when Leia reveals to Han that Luke Skywalker is her brother, effectively ending whatever competition Han thought may still have existed between the two for Leia's affections.
The love theme is considered a complementary expansion of Princess Leia's Theme, the theme of Princess Leia, first heard in A New Hope, and also begins on a major sixth. Whereas Princess Leia's Theme represents a pure innocence of the Princess, Han Solo and the Princess trades in this innocence for a new element of maturity in her personal character.
In Star Wars: Battlefront II, the theme is played when playing as Han Solo.
The December 18, 2015[6] soundtrack to the 2015 sequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, contains the track "Han and Leia," which includes themes from past films, including "The Force Theme" and "Princess Leia's Theme" from Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, as well as "Han Solo and the Princess." It also includes lighter versions of tracks from The Force Awakens, including "March of the Resistance" and Kylo Ren's theme.[1] It first plays when Han and Leia see one another on Takodana for the first time in many years, and continues into the Resistance base on D'Qar. The theme is also played as Leia and Rey sadly embrace upon the Resistance's return from Starkiller Base, where Han was murdered by his and Leia's own son.[7] It returns briefly in The Last Jedi when Luke hands Han's golden dice to Leia on Crait. The theme is present in The Rise of Skywalker when Leia senses the final battle between Kylo Ren and Rey.
Sources[]
- Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Original Soundtrack
- Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
- Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
- Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi
- Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Star Wars: The Force Awakens soundtrack
- ↑
Han Solo and the Princess 2018 Concert Version on the Fal YouTube channel: "From Film Night May 2018
Composed and Conducted by John Williams" (backup link) - ↑ New Han Solo and the Princess Williams RAH LSO 2018 on the Wael Binali YouTube channel: "Beautiful new version of Han Solo and the Princess, with the LSO conducted by Brossé at the Royal Albert Hall on October 26, 2018" (backup link)
- ↑ Han Solo and the Princess (From "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back") on the Robert Ziegler - Topic YouTube channel (backup link)
- ↑ OST (ROBERT ZIEGLER) - MUSIC FROM THE STAR WARS SAGA - THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION - Music On Vinyl on www.musiconvinyl.com (archived from the original on April 27, 2021)
- ↑
The Star Wars: The Force Awakens Soundtrack Arrives December 18 on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
External links[]
- London Symphony Orchestra - A Celebration of John Williams by London Symphony Orchestra on lso.co.uk (archived from the original on October 7, 2021)
- OST (ROBERT ZIEGLER) - MUSIC FROM THE STAR WARS SAGA - THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION - Music On Vinyl on www.musiconvinyl.com (archived from the original on April 27, 2021)