• Williams has already stated his decision to withdraw from film work.
• The date of the duo’s upcoming collaboration is unknown.
• Williams’ contributions to Spielberg’s movies were also acknowledged by the director.

John Williams who is 90 years old, had planned to stop composing music for movies after his most recent project, or at least he did until he made an unexpected declaration to the contrary.

After creating the score for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the planned fifth entry in the Indiana Jones franchise, Williams has already stated his decision to withdraw from film work. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, during a recent American Cinematheque event honoring his 50 years of working with director Steven Spielberg, Williams assured the audience that Dial of Destiny would probably not be his final endeavor, adding, “I’ll hang around for a long!” Regarding his longstanding directing partner, Williams continued, “Steven is many different things. He is an educator, a philanthropist, a producer, a studio head, a writer, and a director. He is not, however, a man to whom you can say “no.”

Spielberg appeared to be stunned by Williams’ remark, and the famed director responded, “I’d best get to work to find out what the hell I’m doing next!” The date of the duo’s upcoming collaboration is unknown. Williams supplied the soundtrack for Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical movie The Fabelmans, which recently won the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture-Drama and Best Director for Spielberg. This was their most recent collaboration. Williams provided some insight into his artistic endeavors when asked about the pair’s collaborative process:

“Music is probably older than language. It is a very important thing in all of us — when we’re grieving when we’re happy. We don’t know why. It’s unknowable. In the end, the film tells us, if we pay attention enough. It’s mainly intuitive.”

Williams’ contributions to Spielberg’s movies were also acknowledged by the director, who said, “I tell a tale, and John retells the story musically.” The choice of the director to assist with Williams’ tribute should not come as a surprise given how closely the two have worked together over the course of their careers. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the first two Jurassic Park movies, and all of the Indiana Jones movies are just a few of the Spielberg movies for which Williams has written the soundtracks.

Along with working with numerous other directors besides Spielberg, Williams has added to the canon of classic movie scores. This contains Superman, the first two Home Alone movies, and the first three Harry Potter movies. Then, of course, there is his renowned Star Wars soundtrack. Williams wrote the music for all nine Skywalker Saga movies, and many people, including the American Film Institute, believe that Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope’s soundtrack is the best film score ever created.

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