John Williams wants to do the next James Bond movie before retirement

Cameron Frew
John Williams

John Williams wants to tackle one more iconic franchise before he retires: James Bond.

John Williams has, arguably, composed the most widely-recognized scores in all of cinema. Find me someone who doesn’t know the dread-inducing “dun dun” from Jaws, the sound of wonder in Jurassic Park, or the rush of giddy excitement from Star Wars’ blaring opening theme.

The maestro is 90 years of age and approaching retirement. Next year, he’ll return to compose the score for Indiana Jones 5, set to be Harrison Ford’s final outing as the whip-wielding archeologist.

However, Williams has at least one goal before he puts away his baton: he wants to do the next James Bond movie.

John Williams wants to do the next James Bond movie

In a new interview with Classic FM, Williams said he’d finished around a third of the soundtrack for Indiana Jones 5. “I pretty much have the thematic scheme done. But we probably will be working on this into September,” he explained.

He was then asked if he’d ever consider writing the score for a James Bond movie, to which he said: “I’d love it.”

He continued, “Writing for film music is very difficult … it’s probably not a profession for all composers because… [it] can be very constricting and possibly very frustrating.

“Once I’ve done, finished with it, I close the book and go on to the next empty page, which has become a way of life where I’m very happy to get up each day to work. I’m very happy, I would feel very deprived if I couldn’t do it.”

In an earlier interview with AP, Williams teased his retirement. “At the moment I’m working on Indiana Jones 5, which Harrison Ford – who’s quite a bit younger than I am – I think has announced will be his last film. So, I thought: If Harrison can do it, then perhaps I can, also,” he said.

“I don’t want to be seen as categorically eliminating any activity. I can’t play tennis, but I like to be able to believe that maybe one day I will.”

About The Author

Cameron is Deputy TV and Movies Editor at Dexerto. He's an action movie aficionado, '80s obsessive, and Oscars enthusiast. He loves Invincible, but he's also a fan of The Boys, the MCU, The Chosen, and much more. You can contact him at cameron.frew@dexerto.com.