John Williams Is Stepping Away From Film Scores After ‘Indiana Jones 5’

Throughout his legendary career, John Williams has composed over 100 film scores, many of them unforgettably iconic; he’s earned 52 Oscar nominations and won 5 of those. He’s the reasons we all love the scores for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park. But at the age of 90, we might be on the verge of hearing Williams’ final movie score with the release of Indiana Jones 5.

Speaking with AP News, Williams said he’s ready to hang it up as a composer of movie scores…but not composing as a whole.

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

To be perfectly clear, Ford isn’t retiring from acting, but this is expected to be his final Indiana Jones movie.

Williams’ career speaks for itself, and so does his close association with Steven Spielberg. The two will reconnect for Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical drama The Fabelmans. And to hear it from Williams, it wouldn’t be surprising that he’d return if the filmmaker asked really nicely…

“It’s been 50 years now. Maybe we’re starting on the next 50. Whatever our connections will be, whether it’s music or working with him or just being with him, I think we will always be together. We’re great, close friends who have shared many years together. It’s the kind of relationship where neither one of us would ever say no to the other.”

Indiana Jones 5 opens June 30th 2023. The Fabelmans opens this November 11th.

Travis Hopson
Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.