John Williams composes the music for the new Steven Spielberg film

The old master returns! As Variety reports, John Williams will provide the score for the new Steven Spielberg film.

Williams and Spielberg have enjoyed an extraordinarily successful collaboration, which began in 1974 with "Sugarland Express". Together they created some of the most iconic film moments in cinema history – including "Jaws", "E.T.", "Jurassic Park", "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan". Williams' music influenced generations of moviegoers and made him one of the most honored composers in film history.

Williams, now 93, had indicated in 2022 that he would retire after completing "Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny". At the time, he told the Associated Press:

"Harrison Ford – who's quite a bit younger than I am – has announced [it] will be his last film. So, I thought: If Harrison can do it, then perhaps I can, also."

But as is so often the case with great artists, retirement did not last. At the end of 2023, Williams qualified his statement in an interview with the Times UK:

"I don't care much for grand pronunciamentos, statements that are firm and finished and surrounded by closed doors. If I made one without putting it in context then I withdraw it."

Little is yet known about Steven Spielberg's new film, which is due to be released in cinemas in 2026. The project does not yet have an official title, but initial reports suggest it will be a UFO adventure. Universal Pictures describes it as a "new, original event film".

The cast is impressive: Josh O'Connor, Emily Blunt, Colman Domingo, Colin Firth and Eve Hewson take on the leading roles. The screenplay was written by David Koepp, who previously worked with Spielberg on "Jurassic Park", "War of the Worlds" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".

John Williams & Steven Spielberg: a partnership that made film history

When you hear the "two-note motif" from "Jaws" or the sublime strings from "Schindler's List", you're not just listening to music – you're listening to cinema in its purest form. For over five decades, John Williams and Steven Spielberg have shaped the emotional soundscape of modern film like no other duo. Their collaboration began in 1974 – and now encompasses 29 films, with a 30th project in the pipeline. A partnership that radiates far beyond Hollywood.

The beginning: The Sugarland Express (1974)

Their journey together began with Spielberg's first feature film "Sugarland Express", a road movie about a couple on the run. Williams' score combined Americana sounds with melancholy and set the tone for the kind of emotional realism that would characterize their later work. Spielberg immediately recognized that Williams was writing more than just music – he was telling stories with notes.

The breakthrough: Jaws (1975)

Just one year later, both changed cinema – and film music – forever. Williams' minimalist, menacing two-note melody made Jaws a milestone of suspense and earned the composer his second Oscar. Spielberg later said: "Without John Williams, Jaws would only have worked half as well – and would only have been half as scary."

Aliens and adventure: "Close Encounters", "E.T." and "Indiana Jones"

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the duo's creative magic fully unfolded. In "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), Williams combined orchestral grandeur with extraterrestrial fascination – a dialog between man and the cosmos, literally captured in music.

With "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981), Williams created one of the most famous themes in film history: the heroic march of Indiana Jones. The music embodied a sense of adventure and ironic wit at the same time – and became the blueprint for the blockbuster cinema of the 80s.

Then came "E.T." (1982), perhaps the most emotional of their joint works. Williams' music carries the film, heightening the feeling of childlike longing and wonder until the unforgettable finale, in which music and image become one. For this he won his fourth Oscar.

Maturation and diversity: the 1980s and 1990s

Spielberg and Williams demonstrated a remarkable stylistic range in the following years. In "The Empire of the Sun" (1987), Williams combined Chinese timbres with Western symphonic music. "Always" (1989) and "Hook" (1991) offered romantic and playful scores, while "Jurassic Park" (1993) once again produced an iconic Williams sound: majestic, awe-inspiring, but also eerie.

The same year saw the release of "Schindler's List" (1993) – a cinematic masterpiece that Williams crowned with one of the most poignant compositions of his career. The main theme, played by Itzhak Perlman, became a musical symbol of human suffering and hope. Williams received his fifth Oscar for it.

War, future, emotion: the 2000s

The 1990s and early 2000s once again showed Williams and Spielberg as congenial storytellers: "Saving Private Ryan" (1998) impressed with its restrained, serious music, which deliberately avoided military pathos. "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" (2001) mixed electronic and orchestral elements – a melancholy portrait of humanity in an artificial world.

In "Minority Report" (2002) and "Catch Me If You Can" (2002), Williams surprised with jazz and retro elements, while "Terminal" (2004) and "War of the Worlds" (2005) once again proved his ability to perfectly balance atmosphere and emotion.

Maturity phase and return to classical music

With "Munich" (2005) and "Lincoln" (2012), Williams showed his serious, introspective side – complex, morally multi-layered works, carried by music that sounds both historical and timeless. "The adventures of Tintin" (2011), on the other hand, was a love letter to the adventure films of earlier decades, in which Williams' orchestral verve once again came into its own.

This was later followed by "Bridge of Spies" (2015), "The BFG" (2016), "The Post" and "The Fablemans" (2022), a deeply personal film in which Spielberg comes to terms with his own childhood – accompanied by Williams' warm-hearted, introspective music. For many, it felt like a musical farewell letter to their decades-long friendship.

A legacy in major and minor keys

John Williams and Steven Spielberg are more than composer and director – they are partners in emotion. Together they have created the sound of modern cinema: Music that not only accompanies, but narrates, deepens and makes unforgettable. Their films are proof that sound and image, heart and mind, art and entertainment need not be opposites – as long as two masters speak the same language.