Counting Down To 'The Mandalorian And Grogu': Ludwig Göransson's Best Tracks From 'The Mandalorian'
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Music is the soul of any Star Wars project, and the likes of John Williams have spoiled fans for decades. The living legend composed the music for all 9 episodes of the Skywalker Saga, so it was hard to imagine a Star Wars live-action project without his sweeping melodies. That is, until Ludwig Göransson came along. The Swedish composer, who is named after Ludwig van Beethoven, had already achieved success before The Mandalorian’s premiere in 2019. He was well-known for his collaborations with Ryan Coogler, including Black Panther, which earned him his first Academy Award for Best Original Score and a Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. Göransson wasn’t the first composer to step into the Star Wars galaxy after John Williams. Kevin Kiner and Michael Giacchino have attempted to create their own sound for the franchise. Gorannson’s task was slightly different, as The Mandalorian was Star Wars’ first step into the streaming television world, so everyone was curious about how it would sound. What would a live-action series on Disney+ that combines the familiar spaghetti Westerns with George Lucas’s Star Wars sound like?
Göransson revealed that he was inspired by the Western and Samurai film genres when he began working on the show’s music. He was inspired by John Williams, Danny Elfman, and Ennio Morricone, and says, “It was John Williams. It was Danny Elfman, especially the score for Edward Scissorhands (1990) had a big impact on me,” and credits Williams and Elfman for being his “main inspirations.” It must have been an honor for him to compose music for Star Wars after looking up to Williams his whole life, but his music for the series is entirely original. When the series premiered in 2019, he was praised for the use of unconventional instruments and sounds, characteristic of all of Ludwig’s music. “My approach is to build sounds from the ground up so there's nothing that has specific associations. Everything is fresh. And that allows the music to function more in a way that traditional sound design functions in a film, where it's very subliminal.” His mark on Star Wars has already been felt strongly, and the maestro has won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for The Mandalorian. He also composed the title track for The Book of Boba Fett, but he was too busy during the making of Mando Season 3, so Joseph Shirley took over for that season. However, with a second Academy Award under his belt for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, he’s back after a hiatus for the next Star Wars film, The Mandalorian and Grogu. In celebration of his return to the franchise, let’s look back at his best tracks from The Mandalorian.
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10. "The Story"
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This track from The Mandalorian, Chapter 13, “The Jedi”, is one of the best in the series. It plays when Ahsoka tells Din Djarin about Grogu’s tragic backstory, but continues as Ahsoka and our titular hero discuss Morgan Elsbeth. This track incorporates Mando and Grogu’s motifs with “A Sorcerer”, a new piece of music that plays during Ahsoka’s first scene in live-action at the start of this episode. The Story has a strong emotional impact, but like the rest of Göransson’s work, it stands out because of its unpredictability. This is a great piece of music to listen to when you want to relax to the show’s Samurai Western vibes. Bonus points if you noticed Ludwig’s brief nod to Yoda’s theme exactly when Ahsoka talked about the late Jedi Master in the episode.
9. "Brown Eyes"
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Long-time fans of the show should be able to tell when “Brown Eyes” plays. This track from Chapter 15, “The Believer,” plays as Din Djarin tries to break into the Imperial database on Morak. It captures the tension he experiences when he realizes that he has to remove his helmet as well, as the steely, electronic sounds evoke the fear of being in an Imperial facility. It’s really hard to find anything wrong in this banger episode that includes plenty of face time from the star of the show, Pedro Pascal, so if you want to experience the nostalgia of The Mandalorian Season 2, this track will take you right back to those Friday mornings back in December 2020!
8. "To The Jawas"
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“Spit that out!” Mando was in for a rude surprise in Chapter 2 after he retrieved the “asset” known fondly back then as “Baby Yoda”. Djarin finds that his ship had been stripped of all its parts and went to Kuiil for help. After Din revealed that the asset was a “child”, Grogu showed us the first true glimpse of his appetite by swallowing an entire frog. This is the first time we heard Grogu’s mischievous and childlike background music, which sounds similar to wind chimes. It’s the same music that can be heard at the end of the show’s title track. In this track, Göransson demonstrates his versatility as a composer by mixing various character themes and creating a whimsical sound. Towards the end, as Kuiil and Mando find the Jawas, the music takes on a very familiar Star Wars sound that transports us to the sands of Tatooine.
7. "Mando Is Back"
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“Mando Is Back” creates a seamless transition from Season 1 to Season 2. The father and child duo are back as they walk down a dark and mysterious alleyway together. You can’t even begin to guess what this episode will be about based on the twists and turns on this track. A wide variety of instruments and sounds help create a Hip-Hop twist to this fun track that will come in handy next year when Mando returns to theaters.
6. "The Marshal’s Tale"
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Cobb Vanth’s background music is unforgettable, and so is his introduction to live-action. Ludwig Göransson takes a page out of John Williams’ playbook of musical storytelling, and the percussion, bass, and guitar sounds make this the most complex and addictive track the composer has ever created for the series. “The Marshal” captures the true breadth of the two-time Oscar winner’s talent better than anything, perhaps even better than his work on Oppenheimer.
5. "Ahsoka Lives"
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This ode to Kevin Kiner’s beautiful Ahsoka theme from The Clone Wars plays during the final few minutes of Chapter 13. Göransson utilizes recorders to craft a complex, moving, and soulful track that captures Ahsoka’s tragic past, her present, and her hopeful future. Even Kevin Kiner would be proud of this one,
4. "The Baby"
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As you have probably guessed, this track is all about Grogu, and it’s played at the end of Season 1. The Baby puts together everything the season was about, including Mando’s heroism, his love of Grogu, Grogu’s future as a Mandalorian, and the love of the Razor Crest. It’s a feel-good track that gives Din and Grogu a happy send-off, leaving fans with a heart full of memories until next time. There’s a sweet scene of Din letting Grogu keep his Mythosaur pendant to go along with the music, revealing how much the little guy already means to his helmeted father. Göransson puts the bold instruments aside in favor of innocent sounds that describe the Baby everyone loves, and ends with an orchestral version of the main theme.
3. "Open The Door"
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Get yourself a box of tissues for “Open The Door”, which plays at the end of Season 2. This track combines the best of “The Force Theme” and everything that reminds us of Luke Skywalker, with the best of Mando and Grogu’s themes from the series. This is the most “John Williams” sounding music from Göransson’s compositions for Star Wars, and transitions beautifully into the most heartbreaking version of Grogu’s theme as Din Djarin removes his helmet and says goodbye to the kid, who leaves with Luke. Fittingly, Göransson won his second Emmy for The Mandalorian for this tearjerker.
2. "You Are A Mandalorian"
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The Western vibes are strong with this one! This track from Chapter 1 plays during a scene that features a timely reminder from Kuiil about Din Djarin’s Mandalorian heritage. As he struggles to tame an unruly blurrg, this heroic track lifts a relatively simple scene into something more epic. The mention of a Mythosaur, combined with the high points of this track, seems to foreshadow Din’s future, and we wonder if he will follow in his ancestor’s footsteps and ride a Mythosaur one day. Until then, this beauty from Göransson gives tough competition to the show’s main theme and deserves to be revisited over and over.
1. "The Mandalorian (Main Theme)"
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It’s only been 5 years since The Mandalorian premiered, but Ludwig Göransson’s Mandalorian theme already feels nostalgic. A few years from now, the Mando theme will be as iconic as “Binary Sunset” and “Duel of Fates”. The theme is a mix of space Western sounds that are unlike anything we’ve ever heard before in Star Wars. Göransson adds in bits of orchestral pieces that provide a signature Star Wars feel, mixed with the heartbeat-like sound that represents the main hero. He’s the man everyone’s rooting for and the man we hope to see succeeding, which is exactly what this theme promises to deliver. The Mandalorian theme and its flute sounds seem altogether unique and familiar in so many ways, and it will be a treat to hear this again in theaters next year, when the titular hero and his tiny son make their big screen debut!
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Sources: Fandom.com, IMDb.com
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