Ahsoka Composer Kevin Kiner Is As Important To Star Wars As John Williams

Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau held court over the panel for "Ahsoka" at this year's Star Wars Celebration bash. They showed more footage revealing Larrs Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn, introduced the world to the directors of the episodes, and brought out the cast, including Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Hera). They even showed an extended cut of the trailer that took us back to the locations of "Star Wars Rebels" and to points beyond we could have never guessed. But one of the most exciting announcements, which could have been overshadowed by everything else in the overstuffed panel, was Filoni's announcement of who will be composing the score for the "Ahsoka" show.

It's none other than Kevin Kiner.

Kevin Kiner might not be a household name like John Williams, but he's actually behind more "Star Wars" music than any other composer alive. As the man tapped to bring music to "Star Wars: The Clone Wars", "Star Wars Rebels", and "Star Wars: The Bad Batch." He established the sound of Ahsoka's theme on screen, and he and his sons, who he regularly composes with, came up with the iconic organ music of Grand Admiral Thrawn's theme. Even if you don't think you've heard his music or themes, you absolutely have. From that striking opening note of "The Clone Wars" to the mystical themes of the Force in "Rebels" to the military marches in "The Bad Batch", he's really put his thumbprint on the sound of "Star Wars."

One of the great things about Kevin Kiner, though, is that he's able to build on the work of John Williams when it makes sense. One particularly striking example of this is in the sequences of "The Clone Wars" that deals with the execution of Order 66. He took the haunting theme from that moment in "Revenge of the Sith" and incorporated it into the fabric of his own music in a way that leaves the audience in tears.

I did an interview with Kevin Kiner in 2018 and he told me that the idea for Thrawn's organ dirge originated with Dave Filoni and was really the work of his son as well. "I would love to take credit for that, but Dave Filoni had the idea of using the organ for that. And it was brilliant. And that's why I'm so fortunate to work with a guy like Dave. That was his idea." 

"I can't take credit for the tune," he told me, "because my eldest son, Sean Kiner, wrote that piece of music. During the last four or five years, we've been co-writing, and my other son has been co-writing with me as well. So the three of us are all writing, and I never thought that would happen. I didn't think I had a business like a bakery or something that I could pass down to my children, but in this case, it's working. They're both really good composers. And for the fans, 'Thrawn's Theme' is one of their favorites. And I got all the credit, but it belongs to my oldest son and Dave Filoni."

It's a family affair, for sure, and it's good news for fans of "Star Wars."

"Ahsoka" hits Disney+ in August 2023.