There are many really exciting aspects of a new Star Wars movie premiering, but one of my favorites is that it means the release of a new Star Wars soundtrack.
The newest Star Wars film, The Mandalorian and Grogu, hits theaters on May 22, with the score provided by Ludwigh Göransson. Interestingly, Lucasfilm shared recently that the soundtrack will be available a week before the movie comes out, as it will be available on all digitital platforms on Walt Disney Records beginning May 15, 2026.
This isn’t the first time that the soundtrack for a Star Wars movie was released ahead of its premiere; it was standard practice for all three prequel movies. But with each of the five Star Wars movies in the Disney era, the soundtrack for the film was released the same day as the film’s premiere. So this marks a deviation from that practice that I find interesting, and we’ll have to wait and see whether this marks a one-time change or a philosophical shift.
Regardless, I can’t wait to listen to Göransson’s score. He scored the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, including the now-legendary theme music. He also provided the main theme for The Book of Boba Fett, with Joseph Shirley doing the full score. Shirley also took over for the third season of The Mandalorian, but Göransson is returning for the movie. He’s one of the industry’s most prolific modern composers, as the 41 year old has already won the Academy Award for Best Original Score three times: for Black Panther (2018), Oppenheimer (2023), and Sinners (2025).
Star Wars Thoughts 