One of the first things that hit us right in the feels in the new Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer was hearing John Williams’ epic “ Duel of the Fates.” Although Star Wars fans remain divided on The Phantom Menace, everyone agrees on what an incredible piece of music that is. Although we hear it three times throughout the prequel trilogy, fans forever associate it with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s fight with Darth Maul. Hearing that music again, it lets us know they’re going to put Obi through the wringer. Now, YouTuber Music Box Rox (via Geeks Are Sexy) has created a pitch-perfect music box cover version of William’s iconic “Duel of the Fates” theme.
This channel has been making old-timey music box versions of some of your favorite pop culture themes for years. Including other Star Wars ones, like The Mandalorian. And now you can take a listen to the cover version of “Duel of the Fates” right here:
As Star Wars producer Dave Filoni has suggested in a 2020 interview, the duel between the Jedi and the Sith in The Phantom Menace is really one of the most crucial points in the saga. The fight isn’t over just the fate of Naboo, but the fate of young Anakin Skywalker’s future. And we all know how that turned out. All of this lends more resonance to this one very specific piece of music.
Music Box Rox has other great music box versions of themes from nerdy favorites besides Star Wars that you may want to check out. They did a version of t he Marvel Studios fanfare that would sound perfect coming from one of your grandma’s antiques. And Star Trek is well represented too. The Next Generation, Voyager, and now Star Trek: Picard got the music box touch. We feel Picard is especially appropriate. A vintage music box feels like just the thing Jean-Luc would have somewhere in his winery. But back to Star Wars, we just hope we get “The Imperial March” in a music box soon. That one needs to happen.