The Mandalorian Did A Major Rework On Bo-Katan's Musical Theme For Season 3
I often have to remind myself that watching "The Mandalorian" is a very different experience for me than other people. For as much as we "Star Wars" animation dweebs enthusiasts love singing the praises of animated series like "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," the fact of the matter is most people haven't seen those shows. As such, when "Clone Wars" mainstays Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) became flesh-and-blood characters in "The Mandalorian" season 2, it probably didn't mean much to casual viewers unfamiliar with their emotionally-rich and otherwise compelling backstories.
No doubt, having that information in hand also made "The Mandalorian" season 3 go down easier for me. After two seasons of being the weekly adventures of a tin can himbo and his tiny green son, Din Djarin and Din Grogu (sorry folks, that's his name and in this house, we respect everyone's chosen designation, even those of fictional baby aliens) took a backseat during season 3 to Bo-Katan's efforts to resume her rightful place as Mandalore's leader and retake her home planet. It was a bumpy transition overall, not least of all for anyone who understandably preferred it when "The Mandalorian" was more self-contained and less Disney-era "Star Wars"-y. Still, in the context of Bo-Katan's overarching story outside of the series, this felt like a pretty natural place to take things.
Befitting of her expanded role on the show, season 3 composer Joseph Shirley substantially reworked Bo-Katan's theme from the version devised by seasons 1 and 2 maestro and Shirley's former mentor, Ludwig Göransson. Speaking to Awards Radar, Shirley emphasized his goal was to "carry that torch and carry on with the message, tone, and arc of [Göransson's] themes in the world-building he had already created. But I also wanted to put my own stamp on it."
'We needed to have a strong theme for her'
Despite Bo-Katan's limited screen time in "The Mandalorian" season 2, Joseph Shirley noted that "a motif follows her throughout. [Showrunner/creator] Jon Favreau wanted me to expand upon that because this season more or less focuses on her. We needed to have a strong theme for her." This meant heavily revamping the original theme Ludwig Göransson had come up with into something better suited for, essentially, the show's new co-protagonist. Shirley explained:
"I took the five-note motif that Ludwig created in season 2, inverted it, and extended it in certain ways that gave it broad strokes and orchestral tones. It was something that I could build on throughout the course of this season. It was very fulfilling to take that material and add my touch. You hear it along the way almost every time she's on screen. But there are a couple of instances, like in episode 8, where she retakes Mandalore, and the theme gets reworked. That was a special moment, so we reworked her theme for that scene."
Laying my cards on the table, I'll admit: I wasn't blown away by Shirley's work when he first ventured to a galaxy far, far away on "The Book of Boba Fett." It didn't help that Göransson is one of the best composers doing it today, nor that his primary theme for "Boba Fett" slaps way harder than anything else on the series. I don't think Shirley's on Göransson's level just yet either (again, that's a really high bar), although he's started finding his own unique voice with his scores for "The Mandalorian" season 3 and "Creed III." With a little luck, Shirley may yet join Göransson, Kevin Kiner, and, oh right, John friggin' Williams among the ranks of the all-time best "Star Wars" composers.