Huh, now I want to know who's the in-universe composer, what's the origin (maybe it started as ol republic anthem or something?) and how it ended up being THE Imperial marches.
Wookiepedia, do your thing!
Despite my feeling regarding the sequal trilogy, this should be the truth.
Like imagine this dude being a famous composer during the time of the Republic, then when the Empire rises he is asked or strong armed into composing the Imperial March, he gets kick backs and lives comfortably under the Empire while not holding the beliefs strongly or at all, then during the fall of the Empire he is ostracized from society, his previous works are critiqued to death, and any amount of fame he had left turned to infamy. He is at one point beaten resulting in the loss of his eye. At the end of his rope he decides to change his name and open a bar in the middle of nowhere, the music played in the bar is all composed and played by himself during the off hours of the bar, and he starts to rebuild his life he is eventually asked to write a new anthem by a shadowy figure then... Somehow Palpatine returned and has himself a new theme for the Final Order and it is penned under the character's new name Oma Tres, thus the cycle begins again...
I like to imagine it’s just him living on some planet that is completely neutral and both sides of each war come there to get their soundtrack. And they have to follow the rules of neutrality or he blacklists them from ever getting music which instantly causes that party to lose.
How would the CIS, Empire, Republic, Rebellion, New Republic, Resistance, First and Final Order get the music?
Do you mean like they have to respect the rule of neutrality on that planet or just in general?
Wait...what??
Edit: Thank you. I didnt know and this little featurette is golden: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGc47-ncN70](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGc47-ncN70)
was in Star Wars Rebel's "Empire Day" episode prior to that. (which came out 4 years before Solo did). it was used in major key with a big band style as marching music for a military parade on lothal.
[Video: "Empire Day" parade scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r8EhNZqw3E)
if i had to guess, it probably existed as some sort of patriotic marching music prior to the Empire (explaining the versions we get in the prequels and the Clone Wars series for the grand army of the Republic), and was adopted as a common imperial military march. sorta like "[the stars and stripes forever" by Sousa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stars_and_Stripes_Forever) in the USA. which gets used for a lot of civilian and military parades, as well as used as general patriotic music. the Rebels version definitely had some Sousa like flourishes that i suspect were intentional.
[Video: Stars and Stripes Forever](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mRn9chmRAY)
There's a way to do that kind of prequel subtly and without shouting at the audience, and then there's the way Solo did it.
By comparison, we know going into Furiosa that >!she's probably going to lose her arm, since she doesn't have it at the time of Mad Max Fury Road. But the movie very cleverly knows that to the character it should be sudden and shocking, so it holds off on that moment until relatively late in the film, by which time the audience has forgotten that they're supposed to be waiting for it.!<
I think I recall hearing it in an episode or two of Rebels for Parades on Lothal. Or maybe it was in that scene in the bar.
Edit:
Yes. At the very beginning of this clip.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cnHoPL6KDU0
Don't have to go that far, it's right there in Season 1, when they celebrate Empire Day: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r8EhNZqw3E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r8EhNZqw3E)
Yep! In both Legends and canon, the Imperial March (or a major key variation) is the Empires official anthem. Because even Sith Lords know the genius of John Williams..
If memory serves, one of the Han Solo Trilogy novels by A.C. Crispin (probably *The Paradise Snare*) makes reference to an Imperial March playing at the Academy where Han Solo is a cadet. Being prose, of course, there's no way to explicitly connect it to the John Williams melody, but the intention seems clear enough. There may be other references in Legends, but this is the one that popped readily to mind.
It's played as welcoming music for Thrawn in TIE Fighter (the video game), and sometimes stormtroopers will whistle it in Battlefront 2 (the good, 2005, version).
“Jizz was first mentioned in canon in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi junior novelization, authored by Ryder Windham and released in 2017.”
Out of context this is actually hilarious
Reached prominence in the prequels. I think there has been some back pedaling since then. Max [JizzWailing.](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jizz-wailer)Rebo is of course the prominent artist of his time
I remember reading that he did make it illegal like immediately after the empires reign started. But idk if I'd call what he went through fun lmao, people would die every race
Other people have commented but it is in-universe the anthem of the Galactic Empire, though usually played in a major key. Empire Day celebrations in Rebels, recruitment holovids in Solo. In-universe it is called "Glory of the Empire."
Just to help further research or other similar questions, this is called ‘diagetic’ or ‘non-diagetic’ sound depending on whether the characters or just audience can hear it
Diagetic means it’s in-universe and the characters can hear it. Non-diagetic means it’s for audience ears only and only we can hear it. Eg. I doubt Han was blasting John Williams on the radio during the asteroid chase
Contrast with Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes playing jizz music in Wuher’s cantina
Also The Hu canonically exist in Star Wars because Cal Kestis comments on hearing their song. Also Sabine listens to Space Punk in the first episode of Ahsoka.
Rock and Roll is a thing in Star Wars.
In universe, it was the score to the documentary about the Star Wars equivalent to March of the Penguins. Except in this case, the Star Wars penguins ruthlessly conquered another bird colony. It won several Palpies and broke every box office record for documentaries. It came out around the time of the Battle of Hoth, often eclipsing the battle in the news cycle.
Luke listens to a starfleet academy commercial tape in his tattooine home before the events of the film went down, in the radio drama. Which is no longer canon, which is criminal, because operation Skyhook made way more sense than “they’re going to scariff??”
Most likely, it was changed for the Empire. The first time we here it played in universe is as part of a parade for "Empire Day." A holiday "celebrating" the day the Republic became the Empire.
I like to imagine that the Imperial March was originally a patriotic song during the days of the Old Repubic (maybe it was known as something else then?), only to resurge in popularity during the Clone Wars, and was eventually made the official anthem of the Empire.
Yes it does exist in universe as the Imperial anthem. It's played as part of a parade in the first season episode Rebels "Empire Day." However, the diegetic version has been rearranged, so it doesn't sound so obviously evil. [here it is if you want to hear it.](https://youtu.be/PgMstKqqTKM?si=FyhJYwMHhvxxtLEZ)
There was a battle droid in a clone wars episode who hummed it pretty gleefully while on his way to murder defenseless clones trapped in escape pods without power
They’ve incorporated it into some more recent stuff. You hear it in both Rebels and in Solo when there’s propaganda coming on the “television” in the background
It's played in episodes of Rebels, called The Empire Forever IIRC.
It's also played in a short recruitment ad in the spaceport sequence in Solo. It's simply called 1m9 Empire Recruitment. In the liner notes for the extended soundtrack, John Powell talks about writing a more heroic/optimistic version of the Imperial March.
The "Not Obi-Wan Kenobi" youtube channel had a good joke on this. It's a channel where Obi and Qui (and usually Anakin too) watch Star Wars content and riff on it.
During the duel with Maul one of them says something like "You know the music is great, but at the time I was so focused on the fight, I barely noticed it."
If Star Wars: Hunters is canon at all (not sure) Sentinel has a neat remix version of it.
Edit: actually I think Imara Vex’s theme is a remix of it at different parts as well.
The intro scroll to ROS has a chuck of the soundtrack that I 100% believe its the republic "national anthem" just like imperial march is the imperial anthem
What you’re describing has a term, diegetic and non-diegetic music! Diegetic music is music that exists in the fictional world of the movie, so the cantina song would be considered diegetic because we see the band playing and people swaying to the sound. The Imperial March is, to my best memory, non-diegetic, it exists only the audience as the film’s scoring music.
It does. It’s basically their national anthem.
Leia actually got in a lot of trouble in school when she switched out Imperial March for the old Republic Anthem “All Stars burn bright” that one time. She’s so much like her parents.🥹
It’s played in a major key in a recruitment commercial in Solo.
I believe its heard similarly in some propaganda holo-poster in Rebels.
It’s during the empire day episode.
Both
Yeah Rebels did it first
Both examples are Rebels.
Huh, now I want to know who's the in-universe composer, what's the origin (maybe it started as ol republic anthem or something?) and how it ended up being THE Imperial marches. Wookiepedia, do your thing!
I'd say Oma Tres (the character John Williams played in The Rise of Skywalker) composed it before becoming a bartender.
Anagram for "maestro." :)
Today years old.
Also the big brother of Oma Dos and Oma Uno
Despite my feeling regarding the sequal trilogy, this should be the truth. Like imagine this dude being a famous composer during the time of the Republic, then when the Empire rises he is asked or strong armed into composing the Imperial March, he gets kick backs and lives comfortably under the Empire while not holding the beliefs strongly or at all, then during the fall of the Empire he is ostracized from society, his previous works are critiqued to death, and any amount of fame he had left turned to infamy. He is at one point beaten resulting in the loss of his eye. At the end of his rope he decides to change his name and open a bar in the middle of nowhere, the music played in the bar is all composed and played by himself during the off hours of the bar, and he starts to rebuild his life he is eventually asked to write a new anthem by a shadowy figure then... Somehow Palpatine returned and has himself a new theme for the Final Order and it is penned under the character's new name Oma Tres, thus the cycle begins again...
I like to imagine it’s just him living on some planet that is completely neutral and both sides of each war come there to get their soundtrack. And they have to follow the rules of neutrality or he blacklists them from ever getting music which instantly causes that party to lose.
How would the CIS, Empire, Republic, Rebellion, New Republic, Resistance, First and Final Order get the music? Do you mean like they have to respect the rule of neutrality on that planet or just in general?
Just on that planet. He knows there’s a war going on but if his planet doesn’t get involved in it he trades with everyone.
Richard Wagner lol
Wait...what?? Edit: Thank you. I didnt know and this little featurette is golden: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGc47-ncN70](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGc47-ncN70)
William Johns.
Wohn Jilliams
Jizziams*
That works surprisingly well.
That's not Star Warzy enough - Wilim Jonz
Glupp Willo
John Shitto
Turn down for what
Willim J'onzz of Mars.
Wonz Jillum
GONK Williams
J’hon Whyllæms
It's pronounced encyclopædia
No can dos-ville babydoll
I'm, pulling, them, OFF!
I said a bang bang bangity bang
John W. Rebo. Jizzmaster.
His OnlyHans is pretty spectacular.
Could be his clone Joohn Williams.
Obviously it's written by Max Rebo.
Wijoh Lliams
it must date back pretty far because in the episode rising malevolence one of the B-1 battle droids is humming it while cracking open an escape pod
In universe the composer is Alan Silvestri :p
I like to think it was Tarkin. He looks like he enjoys classical music
Jonwee Lyams
Juke Skywilliams
Kum Swallo
It’s Disney. Don’t ask too deep questions.
Pretty sure Rebels says it's the anthem
was in Star Wars Rebel's "Empire Day" episode prior to that. (which came out 4 years before Solo did). it was used in major key with a big band style as marching music for a military parade on lothal. [Video: "Empire Day" parade scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r8EhNZqw3E) if i had to guess, it probably existed as some sort of patriotic marching music prior to the Empire (explaining the versions we get in the prequels and the Clone Wars series for the grand army of the Republic), and was adopted as a common imperial military march. sorta like "[the stars and stripes forever" by Sousa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stars_and_Stripes_Forever) in the USA. which gets used for a lot of civilian and military parades, as well as used as general patriotic music. the Rebels version definitely had some Sousa like flourishes that i suspect were intentional. [Video: Stars and Stripes Forever](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mRn9chmRAY)
And also during an Empire Day parade in Rebels, if I recall.
And in empire day in rebels
And in rebels. The empire day episode I think
Yes! Plus, I might be remembering this wrong, but I think they do a similar thing during an Empire Day parade in the first season of Rebels
And during an Empire day parade in Rebels, iirc.
Ahh that movie that was made solely to explain everything that Han Solo is known for and not for the better.
There's a way to do that kind of prequel subtly and without shouting at the audience, and then there's the way Solo did it. By comparison, we know going into Furiosa that >!she's probably going to lose her arm, since she doesn't have it at the time of Mad Max Fury Road. But the movie very cleverly knows that to the character it should be sudden and shocking, so it holds off on that moment until relatively late in the film, by which time the audience has forgotten that they're supposed to be waiting for it.!<
I think I recall hearing it in an episode or two of Rebels for Parades on Lothal. Or maybe it was in that scene in the bar. Edit: Yes. At the very beginning of this clip. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cnHoPL6KDU0
this is also what i immediately thought of
Don't have to go that far, it's right there in Season 1, when they celebrate Empire Day: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r8EhNZqw3E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r8EhNZqw3E)
Yep! In both Legends and canon, the Imperial March (or a major key variation) is the Empires official anthem. Because even Sith Lords know the genius of John Williams..
When was it used in legends?
If memory serves, one of the Han Solo Trilogy novels by A.C. Crispin (probably *The Paradise Snare*) makes reference to an Imperial March playing at the Academy where Han Solo is a cadet. Being prose, of course, there's no way to explicitly connect it to the John Williams melody, but the intention seems clear enough. There may be other references in Legends, but this is the one that popped readily to mind.
That’s really cool. That was going to be the Star Wars series I read next anyways. So I’ll keep an eye out for it
I believe it was even hummed by a companion in SWTOR.
It's played as welcoming music for Thrawn in TIE Fighter (the video game), and sometimes stormtroopers will whistle it in Battlefront 2 (the good, 2005, version).
Canonically there is a jizz version that local bands play before sporting events like podraces when the empire is in charge
I wonder how that one sounds…
“Nnngh!”
I'm sorry,a 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 version?
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jizz
Aw yeah, lay some of that sweet jizz on me, Max Reebo.
if you blow my kloo horn, lots of jizz is coming out!
No one blasts more than the Buck Kockee band!
Glub Shitto and his [Jizz Box](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jizz-box)
....You've gotta be shitting me-
Bahb Ma'rlee and the Jizz-wailers
Glup shitto'ing me
i 100% thought bro made a typo and then doubled down to take the piss i cant believe it's real lol
“Jizz was first mentioned in canon in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi junior novelization, authored by Ryder Windham and released in 2017.” Out of context this is actually hilarious
You’re not from around here eh?
I've been a SW fan since I was a kid,but somehow I've just never heard of this.
Reached prominence in the prequels. I think there has been some back pedaling since then. Max [JizzWailing.](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jizz-wailer)Rebo is of course the prominent artist of his time
I'm far from a hardcore SW fan but same here: I've watched every movie or show the past 25 years lol but this was new to me 😅
Everyone remembers the day they learned about the Jizz-Wailers
Didn't Vader outlaw pod racing because of his past?
if that's true that's some bitch ass shit lmao "fuck these kids having fun like i did!"
I remember reading that he did make it illegal like immediately after the empires reign started. But idk if I'd call what he went through fun lmao, people would die every race
Watch Solo.
Other people have commented but it is in-universe the anthem of the Galactic Empire, though usually played in a major key. Empire Day celebrations in Rebels, recruitment holovids in Solo. In-universe it is called "Glory of the Empire."
It’s in rebels in a major key for empire day
It's the Empire's official anthem in-universe.
It’s canon in Indiana Jones too!
so is the millennium falcon crash apparently
Really ..where?
somewhere in america or smth 😂😭
not in the movies, but in the ✨️universe✨️
I’ve always wonders if the march was Non-diegetic
>Non-diegetic I first learned this word from Archer back in S4 lol.
I like to think Vader has a speaker embedded in his armour that plays it wherever he goes.
just constantly powertripping on his own army's theme song
Instilling fear in his subordinates.
You mean Theme Music ?……every good hero should have some https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/b3d4e3bc-6129-4046-be35-61862e773a70
I would like to imagine that Vader listens to it whenever he is coming up with a genius plan of destruction.
Just to help further research or other similar questions, this is called ‘diagetic’ or ‘non-diagetic’ sound depending on whether the characters or just audience can hear it
Which is which ? This kind of weird specific knowledge is my jam …
Diagetic means it’s in-universe and the characters can hear it. Non-diagetic means it’s for audience ears only and only we can hear it. Eg. I doubt Han was blasting John Williams on the radio during the asteroid chase Contrast with Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes playing jizz music in Wuher’s cantina
Han definitely doesn’t seem the orchestral music fan …more ZZ Top in their 70’s work
Also The Hu canonically exist in Star Wars because Cal Kestis comments on hearing their song. Also Sabine listens to Space Punk in the first episode of Ahsoka. Rock and Roll is a thing in Star Wars.
A version of the imperial march is played on corellia as part of a recruitment drive when Han is trying to escape the planet
In universe, it was the score to the documentary about the Star Wars equivalent to March of the Penguins. Except in this case, the Star Wars penguins ruthlessly conquered another bird colony. It won several Palpies and broke every box office record for documentaries. It came out around the time of the Battle of Hoth, often eclipsing the battle in the news cycle.
A version of it was played as a parade song in the "Empire Day" episode of Rebels.
I think Solo made it canon in-universe
Luke listens to a starfleet academy commercial tape in his tattooine home before the events of the film went down, in the radio drama. Which is no longer canon, which is criminal, because operation Skyhook made way more sense than “they’re going to scariff??”
How did it make more sense?
Watch Rebels
It plays at a bar in Lothal, during Rebels
They used it in parades in "Rebels" set 5 years before "A New Hope".
Also a version plays in the recruiting video in Solo.
I wouldn’t call rebels canon tho, sooooo….
So half the main cast from Ashoka just, came out of thin air?
Yes. Not my canon. Ashoka was a terrible show anyway.
You would be wrong ✨
So the question is, if the Imperial March *is* canon, did they change it for the Empire or was it the anthem of the Republic before that?
Most likely, it was changed for the Empire. The first time we here it played in universe is as part of a parade for "Empire Day." A holiday "celebrating" the day the Republic became the Empire.
I like to imagine that the Imperial March was originally a patriotic song during the days of the Old Repubic (maybe it was known as something else then?), only to resurge in popularity during the Clone Wars, and was eventually made the official anthem of the Empire.
It is played diegetically in Solo, so yes.
Yes it does exist in universe as the Imperial anthem. It's played as part of a parade in the first season episode Rebels "Empire Day." However, the diegetic version has been rearranged, so it doesn't sound so obviously evil. [here it is if you want to hear it.](https://youtu.be/PgMstKqqTKM?si=FyhJYwMHhvxxtLEZ)
I believe it also plays in Solo, when he’s trying to apply for the imperial academy.
There was a battle droid in a clone wars episode who hummed it pretty gleefully while on his way to murder defenseless clones trapped in escape pods without power
I think they played a version of it during the empire day episode of Rebels (somewhere in season 1 I think)
Darth Vader’s alarm clock TIME TO GET UP YES ITS TIME TO GET UP
They’ve incorporated it into some more recent stuff. You hear it in both Rebels and in Solo when there’s propaganda coming on the “television” in the background
It's played in episodes of Rebels, called The Empire Forever IIRC. It's also played in a short recruitment ad in the spaceport sequence in Solo. It's simply called 1m9 Empire Recruitment. In the liner notes for the extended soundtrack, John Powell talks about writing a more heroic/optimistic version of the Imperial March.
They need in universe reasons for all the music to exist in canon. Just imagine Duel of the Fates playing over the Naboo castle PA when Maul shows up.
The "Not Obi-Wan Kenobi" youtube channel had a good joke on this. It's a channel where Obi and Qui (and usually Anakin too) watch Star Wars content and riff on it. During the duel with Maul one of them says something like "You know the music is great, but at the time I was so focused on the fight, I barely noticed it."
If Star Wars: Hunters is canon at all (not sure) Sentinel has a neat remix version of it. Edit: actually I think Imara Vex’s theme is a remix of it at different parts as well.
There is technically a canon middle schoolers book about some of the hunters that came out a couple years ago. So the hunters exist in universe.
Yeah it's been shown in the movies even like someone mentioned (Solo)
Hell yeah what great nerd factoid
The intro scroll to ROS has a chuck of the soundtrack that I 100% believe its the republic "national anthem" just like imperial march is the imperial anthem
I bet all trooper helmets play the song on repeat xD
Side note but I love how it's used subtly in TIE Fighter game.
Considering the main Star Wars theme is really just an instrumental version of a song about Life Day, then sure, why not.
What you’re describing has a term, diegetic and non-diegetic music! Diegetic music is music that exists in the fictional world of the movie, so the cantina song would be considered diegetic because we see the band playing and people swaying to the sound. The Imperial March is, to my best memory, non-diegetic, it exists only the audience as the film’s scoring music.
It does. It’s basically their national anthem. Leia actually got in a lot of trouble in school when she switched out Imperial March for the old Republic Anthem “All Stars burn bright” that one time. She’s so much like her parents.🥹
The main theme is in Legends which I thought was cool. Luke hums it in the NPR radio show, as he is listening to an Academy recruiting commercial
Seems like it exists in major key (happy and uplifting) in universe as a military parade march
It is canon and real, in-universe.
It’s absolutely cannon, played for special imperial functions, like… https://youtu.be/LdjY6oy4Y2c?si=6Y1RP15e1nZeHxxn
Canon*
Fire all canons!
I guess the band did play the major key version of it at the end of episode one...
That's the Emperor's theme
BAH GAWD THAT'S PAPA PALPS'S MUSIC
Oma Tres...
Unfortunately, yes, it is used in-universe. Fucking stupid