Revenge of the Sith (Single)

“The Lava Planet”

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Original Release Date: 01/30/2008

Re-release Date: 05/21/2016

Track Compiled and Edited 09/20/2006 – 05/03/2007

(A total of 9 edits have been made)

All music composed by John Williams

Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra

01 – The Lava Planet	(03:23)
02 – The Classic Trilogy (Preview)	(04:28)



Total Runtime	07:51

Original recording sources are:

STAR WARS - EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

*This track contains brief samples of unreleased music

STAR WARS – A NEW HOPE (Special Edition Motion Picture Soundtrack

STAR WARS – THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (Special Edition Motion Picture Soundtrack)

STAR WARS – RETURN OF THE JEDI (Special Edition Motion Picture Soundtrack)

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Personal Track Interpretation

“The Lava Planet”

An overbearingly dark theme, "The Lava Planet" is the third single for Symphony for a Saga. Throughout the Star Wars saga, there is no darker time than during the events on the planet Mustafar.

Beginning with a militarist cadence, "The Lava Planet" symbolizes Anakin Skywalker's seeming lack of humanity. Now as a Dark Lord of the Sith, Anakin mindlessly does his master's bidding as a leader in the new Galactic Empire. After the purge of the Jedi has begun, Anakin is sent to Mustafar to wipe out the Emperor's former allies, cementing his rule over the galaxy.

"The Lava Planet" depicts the final moments of the rise of Darth Vader when Anakin Skywalker casts aside his destiny as the Chosen One, and turns on his wife, Padme, essentially killing her. In that instant, the boy Obi-Wan trained is no more and a final battle must be waged to rid the galaxy of the Sith.

“The Classic Trilogy (Preview)”

This track was originally commissioned by a video editor for a Classic Trilogy "super-trailer." The concept of the trailer was to combine a collection of images and scenes and blend them together to tell the story of the original trilogy. I was directed to compose a piece of music which featured the main themes from the series.

The first edit between the frantic rendition of Leia's theme blending into the "Main Title" reprise heavily influenced the first single from the Classic Trilogy, "A New Hope." I began the piece with strong energized themes, a hoping to embrace the action, danger, and heroics of the original films.

Taken from the end credits medley of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, "Han Solo and the Princess" is a theme that plays through some extremely dramatic scenes in the saga. For me the theme certainly is more than Han and Leia's romance, but the bond of family between all the heroes of the saga.

From there, we transition suddenly to the Empire's theme, signified by the violent rendition of "Darth Vader's Theme". The oppression of the Empire is clearly expressed with music from the Millennium Falcon's escape from the Star Destroyers. Each run-in with the Empire is filled with danger and ultimate peril.

But we can't forget the heart of the trilogy, as exemplified by the incredible Force theme from "Binary Sunset". The use of the Force as a storytelling tool serves as a reminder to us to never forget, or stray far from our spiritual side. Luminous beings are we, not some crude matter.

Finally, we close out the piece with the final battle between good and evil, the duel between Luke and Vader in RETURN OF THE JEDI. Here the relationship between the Dark Side and the Light Side of the Force, as well as between Father and Son clash for the final time in the Saga.

This piece is filled with such emotion; it seems to sum up all the drama in the Skywalker family, from Anakin and Padme to Luke and Leia. To blend this music with samples from the other two films, this cue needed heavy remastering due to the poor quality and troublesome mastering sessions while completing the third film’s "Special Edition" soundtrack. It also illuminated the challenge I was going to have when it came to the final film in the Classic Trilogy Symphony.

In the end, this space opera is about action, adventure, and romance; good and evil, and family. The fanfare reminds us that we are leaving this wonderfully rich world, if only for a time. We are welcome to return whenever we have the desire to see old friends once again.

The trailer was unfortunately never made. Rather than allow these edits and this great piece to go unheard, it provides a great tease for the next suites in the Symphony for a Saga series.

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