John Williams is back for 'Solo: A Star Wars Story', but there's a catch

Solo is bringing back a beloved member of the classic Star Wars crew – but there's a catch.

John Williams, whose legendary music has driven all but one of the Star Wars movies to date, is set to return for Solo: A Star Wars Story.

However, he'll only write the theme, not the whole score. The primary composer for the movie is still John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon), as announced in July.

Williams explained the situation to Variety. "What I will do is offer this to John [Powell], and to [director] Ron Howard, and if all parties are happy with it, then I will be happy," he said. "John will complete the score. He will write all the rest of the themes and all of the other material, which I’m going to be very anxious to hear.”

Williams' relationship with Star Wars goes back to the first one, for which he won a Best Original Score Oscar. He additionally received Oscar nominations for Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and The Force Awakens (as well as various other wins and noms for his non-Star Wars work). The Last Jedi was his eighth Star Wars score.

But Solo won't be the first Star Wars movie without a Williams score. That'd be 2016's Rogue One, which had Michael Giacchino stepping in instead.

Solo's music has previously been described as "in the style of the original Star Wars movies but retain Powell’s distinctive voice." Now that distinctive voice will get a bit of a boost from the guy who knows Star Wars music better than anybody.