With Star Wars: The Last Jedi being released in Digital HD tomorrow, director Rian Johnson is currently at the annual South by Southwest film festival where a documentary about his film’s creation (titled “The Director and the Jedi”) is screening. That documentary is one of the headline features that will be included in The Last Jedi‘s home release, but Johnson says he’s excited to talk up another treat arriving tomorrow as well. In an interview with Prime Video, Johnson says there will be a “music only” version of the film you can watch that truly highlights Star Wars veteran John Willams’ score. “Basically, we did a mix where there is no dialogue, no sound effects, no backgrounds — nothing but the score just playing at regular, perfect level,” Johnson explained. He went onto to say that this will allow fans to “watch it like a silent film” and said, “If you do this, it’s incredible because it really… you see the nuance that he rides the emotion of the scenes with.” Disney confirmed this version’s release, saying it will be exclusive to Movies Anywhere.
As if Johnson’s praise for John Williams wasn’t already earned, it’s also timely given the news that the composer is likely retiring from the saga after he completes work on Episode IX. In any case, what do you think about this “music only” version of The Last Jedi? Are you as excited to watch it as Rian Johnson is to release it? Let us know!