Composer Obi-Wan Kenobi Natalie Holt talks about crafting the voice of the Star Wars icon

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi Our TV screens graced earlier this year, with the Disney+ series finally bringing to life the solo story of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). The series was packed with elements that left fans raucous, including the series’ score, which was composed and revived by Natalie Hoult. Holt has already developed a huge fan following in 2021 for her creative (and now Emmy-nominated) work on another Disney+ series, season one of Marvel. loki. But its work on Obi-Wan Kenobi It was easily a standout in its six episodes, blending classic Star Wars musical tropes with unique and emotional flair.

in celebration of Obi-Wan Kenobirecent definitive series, ComicBook.com She spoke with Holt about her epic and revered work on the series. We also talked about her work in the recently released Hulu movie the princessher work on the next DC bat girl movie, and much more!

(Photo: Lucasfilm, Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)

pressure

ComicBook.com: I was reading other interviews where you talked about being a Star Wars fan long before I got on this show. Did that add any kind of extra stress or expectations that would start to work Obi-Wan Kenobi?

Natalie Holt: Yes, sure, because there is a house style with Lucasfilm so beloved by fans. So you just feel this huge responsibility to do justice. And also, because in your head, that thing you remember when you got an amazing score. Yes, I felt a lot of pressure when I got the job.

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John Williams

How did it feel to work alongside John Williams’ theme on the show? How did that affect your creative process?

It set the tone for me, in terms of the orchestra I use. We kind of used the same orchestra, and that kind of harmonic plate, I think. Once he joined in and did that, he kind of made it clear that I needed to lead on that. Also, he let us use his original themes in Episode 6, so I knew we were building for this place as well. [That] He inspired me so much and drove what I was doing.

But the director, Deborah Chow, wanted to do something a little more passionate and emotional, in terms of internalizing what Obi is feeling and his emotional streak. Also, she wanted a deep sense of Vader and his anger. I think she wanted something a little more subconscious than the traditional big topic she usually gets from Star Wars.

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Duel of Fate

Prior to the show, it seemed like the musical instrument that I most associated with Obi Wan was “Duel of the Fates,” and I feel your score takes on the elements of that in a really interesting way. How does that affect and make it into the score?

I mean, I love the Duel of Fate. I just think it’s a strong piece. I knew we weren’t using it, but I guess there were those choral elements where Reva was chasing Luke in the desert. I definitely used some of the same chords, the kind of driving chord rhythms you get in Duel of Destinies. So I am definitely inspired by that.

I also loved developing Leah’s theme, then I heard her adult theme in Episode 6 and only [feeling] It’s like we’ve taken her through this journey and through this story. She’s gone from being that rude kid [who is] With peace of mind [and] Running through the woods, climbing trees, becoming more emotionally mature and on her way to becoming the Princess Leia we know New hope.

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ya

I wanted to ask about Leah’s topic, because this is one of the most important highlights of the show and the score. So, how did it feel to build on Leah’s musical journey, and how creative has she been over the years?

She felt a huge responsibility, because she is such a wonderful person. Everyone just wanted to make sure… “It shouldn’t be too cute. It shouldn’t be a Disney princess either.” This was the remark from Kathleen Kennedy: “We don’t want to feel like a twin in any way.” So there was a lot of versions, back and forth to that.

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Obi-Wan vs. Loki

How was the experience working on it? Obi-Wan Kenobi Reverse loki?

Think… loki I didn’t have any music [already] associated with it, in particular. The character did not have his own kind of distinguishing feature. And I also feel that the music in Marvel is not some kind of house style. More people used to like, “Oh, this one and this one and…” Mark Mothers and Alan Silvestri wrote very different degrees of Marvel and everyone accepts more [variety]. So I guess I didn’t feel that much pressure when I got the job, the need to fit in with an amazing musical style, [like what] John Williams had resided. So that was just a lot of pressure, because I’m a huge John Williams fan too.

and world loki It was completely different. I spoke to Kate Heron, the director, about using a lot of different tools. We were talking about the golden record, the kind of thing that was sent into space as a space probe, to communicate with aliens, what is the human race, which was like all music through time, and also from all regions of the world. This is what we need to include loki. It’s just all time and TVA. So that meant we could bring more musical ideas, I think, textures and musical genres into the melting pot. That was completely different, while Obi It was like recording an emotional journey.

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Surprise

What you will say is the most surprising part of the work experience Obi-Wan Kenobi?

For me, personally, I couldn’t believe I got the job. I couldn’t believe John Williams was working with her. I look at it like, “I wrote a show with John Williams.” I think this is the most surprising part of the job, that it actually happened.

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Fan response

How was it when I saw the fans’ response Obi-Wan Kenobi?

I understand, I’m sure people wish John Williams had just taped the whole show, because he’s heritage characters. I am sure you will never please everyone. I think maybe the same with [The Mandalorian‘s] Ludwig [Göransson]quite far from the norm with Mandalorian. Some people love it. People will have their opinions on it, and I feel like we’ve done our best to bring a little freshness to The Inquisitor, Reva, and newer characters. And then, too, she drives to a place that was more than John Williams.

I kind of got off Twitter. I don’t really look at it that much, because I think you can be drawn to people’s opinions, and it would be a bit of a dark world if you went that way.

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the princess

I wanted to ask about the princess, because that sounds like a great project, too. How was the experience of recording it like for you?

It was so full, because I was recording it in the fall and then Obi It came along. So there was a little crossover initially there, but they were different projects. And the the princess, I work with [director Le-Van] Kit was really cool, just had a fast paced action, and also threw a lot of electric guitars and medieval instruments into the mix. Yes, that was very fun. Foolish fun project.

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bat girl

I am a huge fan of Batgirl, and I was thrilled when it was announced that you were joining the film project. I know you can’t say much, but – what made you want to be a part of Barbara Gordon’s story?

I mean, it’s pretty cool. like 1989 Batman It is one of my favorite things, and the fact that Michael Keaton is in it is very exciting. I just spoke to Adel [el Arbi] and Bilal [Fallah]directors, they have massive blocks of energy and enthusiasm, and they really love it loki. Call me afterwards loki It aired, and I just said, “We have this project that we’d like you to read.” And go from there. But yeah, it was fun.

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