Imperial March Hidden in Rogue One’s Soundtrack.

The Imperial March could be heard prominently at the end of Darth Vader’s last scene in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but fans have just discovered that an Easter Egg in the soundtrack that cleverly sneaks the opening part of the iconic theme right by us.

 

Spoilers ahead! (Seriously, though – the movie’s a month old and we’re talking about a specific moment in the soundtrack that corresponds to footage seen in the movie. This is kind of a given at this point.)

 

If you listen to the portion of “Hope” that plays when Darth Vader has the Rebels cornered, you might notice a few familiar-sounding notes thrown into what seems like a completely new composition. However, if you play the song at double the tempo, it becomes clear that a portion of Darth Vader’s signature leitmotif was included as the basis for that portion of the composition. Twitter user @bobbyrobertsspdx (hat tip user Cyborgcommando0 of Reddit, via ComicBook.com) has uploaded a short video that helps showcase the notes that are played through the choir, strings, and horns – alongside playing the theme alongside the iconic John Williams composition:

 

 

 

I should also note that Frank Lehman of Musicology Now also made this observation a few days ago, although it did not get picked up by any major outlet. Still, this is a really cool Easter Egg, and we can only hope that if Michael Giacchino sticks around to compose any of the other Star Wars movies, then he keeps applying this same attention to detail to future compositions.

 

 

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Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

28 thoughts on “Imperial March Hidden in Rogue One’s Soundtrack.

  • January 17, 2017 at 1:24 am
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    That’s pretty brilliant and cool. The soundtrack has grown on me once I got over it not being the familiar themes carried through out the other films.

    • January 17, 2017 at 2:55 pm
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      Ah, but it is in a way, too. Which makes it even better.

  • January 17, 2017 at 1:40 am
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    I liked that they included his theme from IV, It’s not as good as The Imperial March but fitting considering it’s used a bit in ANH which it takes place right before.

    • January 17, 2017 at 1:57 am
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      You mean the “Dun dun DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!” leitmotif that played in ANH when we saw the Death Star? Yeah… I liked that that was in the movie, too.

      – Pomojema

      • January 17, 2017 at 6:18 am
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        Close..but I think it’s more like “Dun DUNNNNN”

      • January 17, 2017 at 4:30 pm
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        I think he was talking about the “dun dun dun duh dun dun. duh dun dun. duhuhuhuh duh” when they show Vader in the bacta tank.

  • January 17, 2017 at 1:43 am
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    That’s just freakin’ brilliant. Would that be the first true “musical Easter egg” in a Star Wars film?

    • January 17, 2017 at 2:13 am
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      The music at the end of the Phantom Menace is the Emperor theme from ROTJ.;

    • January 17, 2017 at 5:52 pm
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      Nope. Not by a long shot. Google “Star Wars Oxygen”. Great series that talks about things like this.

      • January 19, 2017 at 2:03 am
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        THANK YOU for pointing me in that direction. I listened to the Rogue One show today and was blown away. I’m hooked (and now even more impressed by Giacchino’s score).

  • January 17, 2017 at 2:00 am
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    Any time I can find a new reason to listen to “Hope” is a win for me.

  • January 17, 2017 at 2:56 am
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    I definitely noticed it the second time.

  • January 17, 2017 at 3:54 am
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    Yeah, that’s a pretty common compositional technique. You just grab your theme a stretch it, you’d be amazed how many times we’ve heard these sort of things in Star Wars.

  • January 17, 2017 at 5:57 am
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    I think i found an easter egg in the soundtrack. Listen to the start of ‘Krennic’s Aspirations’ up until 0:30. The same tune from ‘Anakin’s Betrayal’ 2:50 from ROTS. I always thought this little nod was the most powerful little easter egg for Mustafar and vader.

    However in the film, “Krennic’s aspirations’ starts just a few seconds before the mustafa scene. Thoughts???? am i crazy??

  • January 17, 2017 at 6:19 am
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    OPEN FIREEE!!!!!!!!!

  • January 17, 2017 at 8:14 am
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    What. I noticed this the first time I listened to the soundtrack.

  • January 17, 2017 at 10:03 am
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    Let’s be clear. This is not an easter egg, it’s as plain as day. The Imperial March is in no way ‘Hidden” If you’re too daft to notice then you’re not listening. Sorry.

    • January 19, 2017 at 7:22 pm
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      Agreed 100%. Noticed this on first viewing. If this is an “easter egg” than the Imperial March at the end of Anakin’s theme from TPM is an “easter egg” too.

  • January 17, 2017 at 11:06 am
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    Ugh… heard it…

  • January 17, 2017 at 3:19 pm
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    Its been a while since I’ve seen Rogue One but I was pretty sure I remember hearing a piece of the Imperial March. Theres a snippet on the soundtrack.

    • January 17, 2017 at 6:01 pm
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      It plays right after this part, actually.

      – Pomojema

  • January 17, 2017 at 7:52 pm
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    Thats not the Imperial March when you play it at 2x speed. Thats a slightly altered version of Duel of the Fates from The Phantom Menace. It works when you put the Imperial march on top of it because the chords were altered to match.

  • January 17, 2017 at 8:40 pm
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    Actually, Rogue One opens with a musical easter egg of sorts.

    Listen to track 1, “He’s Here For Us.” Right after the gong fades from the opening sting, the gentle little trill we hear (I think it might be a piccolo) as the camera pans up to the rings of La’Mu is almost an inversion of the gentle little trill we hear in Episode IV as the camera pans down from the crawl to Tatooine. I suspect that Giacchino did this intentionally, and if so it’s a really nice little touch.

  • January 17, 2017 at 11:00 pm
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    Also in the opening track the timpani (played by John Williams’ brother) also play the notes of the imperial march, starting at 1:10.

  • January 18, 2017 at 1:34 am
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    This is a fantastic Easter egg in my opinion.

  • January 22, 2017 at 2:34 pm
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    I didn’t really think it was an Easter Egg as such, more like a tribute or a nod to it and a foreshadowing of what’s to come in ANH. I also think that the very beginning of the track sounds like a slowed-down version of Duel Of The Fates….

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