The Mandalorian & Grogu Score is Absolute GENIUS!

I've spent the last few weeks completely obsessed with The Mandalorian & Grogu score while putting everything together for my latest breakdown video!

I’ve just been listening to the tracks on repeat, plucking out themes on my piano, trying to pull the music apart.

(So you can imagine how excited I was when my physical copy finally arrived on vinyl yesterday!!)

The movie itself has been out for a couple of weeks now, and to be completely honest, it’s not really my favorite Star Wars film.

It’s a fun summer blockbuster, but it’s incredibly safe and I think that’s why it’s not really connecting the way Disney hoped it would for their big return to theaters. (After nearly 7 years!)

But what blew me away as a composer is how a score can completely step up when a script plays it safe.

Without Ludwig Göransson's music, I don't know if I would have cared about this story at all. The score had to take on a massive personality to carry the emotional weight of the film!

Göransson is easily one of my top five favorite composers right now because his passion for pure exploration is just insane.

via Deadline

I always say this, but I would love to be a fly on the wall in his studio just to watch his process.

He builds these worlds as true hybrids from the ground up—taking a bass recorder or a slightly out-of-tune piano and mixing them with futuristic synths and ambient sound design.

But what's wild is that he still keeps a massive orchestra at the absolute heart of the score.

The vinyl came with a little quote from Göransson where he shares his experience with Star Wars what the composing/recording process was like.

They recorded this score back in January at the Newman Scoring Stage with a 104-piece orchestra and a 64-piece choir!

It’s a massive production and it gives the film a sense of scale it desperately needed.

It's a huge year for Ludwig, too. He's released this at the end of May and then we get his score for Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey this July!

In my most recent video, I focus entirely on how Grogu’s musical themes evolve.

But there’s also so much that this score has to offer that I couldn't fit into the video!

Slight spoilers for The Mandalorian and Grogu ahead! ‼️

Like the sub-connection of Rotta’s theme when the Mandalorian and Grogu visit the planet Shakari.

Usually, when you think of a Hutt character, you might expect darker, ominous sounds. Göransson used a lot of heavy "crime-lord" textures for the Hutt twins in their castle. Makes sense!

But for Rotta’s arena fights, he came up with this upbeat, marching band, gladiator-style theme?!

It sounds so good, and on a storytelling level, it tells us everything we need to know about his psychology.

Rotta is actively choosing to break away from his family history and not be the heir of a crime lord, yet he's still caught in a loop of violence as a fighter.

It isn't until he makes the choice to help the Din Djarin and Grogu that he truly breaks free from his past.

It creates this perfect thematic parallel to Grogu’s own growth!

And I mean...who the heck else would have thought to use a marching band sound for a Hutt?! It's genius!

It really is a masterclass in how a score can carry an entire film when the writing plays it safe. Over on the channel, I went deep into the exact musical storytelling behind Grogu's transformation.

You can check out the full video breakdown here:

Let me know what you think of the score! Did you catch any other hidden details in the tracks?!

As always...Happy Composing!