As the release to "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens" gets closer Disney continues to unveil new plans for the next installments and the spin-offs.

The latest news pertains to the spin-off "Rogue One" as Alexandre Desplat recently signed on to score the upcoming film, which is set to star Felicity Jones and will be directed by Gareth Edwards.

The news comes as a surprise as John Williams has scored every single Star Wars film to date and will be scoring the upcoming "Episode VII." Williams created iconic melodies for the first six films, and it is likely the new installment will also showcase the composer at his best.

Desplat is recognized by the industry as one of the busiest composers working at the moment. He recently won the Oscar for his work on "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and has also scored "The Imitation Game," "The Ghost Writer," "The Queen," "Moonrise Kingdom," "Argo," "The King's Speech," "Philomena" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Desplat has also scored a number of franchises including "The Twilight Saga" and the final two Harry Potter installments. He has also worked with Edwards before on the latest "Godzilla" movie."

It will be interesting to see if Desplat uses the main melodies already known to the Star Wars franchise or if he will create new ones. Additionally, it will be interesting to see how audiences receive the score given how beloved Williams' music has become in cinema history. Desplat once again has the task of replacing Williams in a major franchise. Williams had scored the first three Harry Potter films: Patrick Doyle and Nicholas Hooper had scored the fourth, fifth and sixth, and audiences and critics were not happy with these composers. Desplat, however, received pretty good reviews for his work. That said, Williams' score was still in the memory of fans and remains the musical high point of that franchise. The very same could happen with "Star Wars."

"Rogue One" is based on an idea by Industrial Light & Magic's chief creative officer John Knoll, who is the executive producer to the film. The screenplay was written by Chris Weitz, who is best known for "About a Boy" and "Cinderella," and the film is set to begin shooting this summer in London.

Simon Emanuel ("The Dark Knight Rises," "Fast & Furious 6") and Jason McGatlin ("Tintin," "War of the Worlds") will also serve as executive producers. Kathleen Kennedy and Tony To ("Band of Brothers," "The Pacific") will serve as producer. John Swartz ("Star Wars: The Force Awakens") will co-produce.

The film is set to hit theaters Dec. 16, 2016, a year after the release of "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens."

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