[5] Holt said that her composition process was "a more similar journey to John Powell or Michael Giacchino", the respective composers for Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), in being "steeped in the historical heritage characters" compared to the musical freedom granted to Ludwig Göransson with the new characters featured in The Mandalorian.

For the planet of Alderaan, Holt added "South American flavors" including rhythmic elements and modern synths.

Williams' "Imperial March" is not heard until Darth Vader has "earned" the theme in becoming "much more measured" at the end of his journey in the series according to Holt.

[12] Holt's music was recorded with a traditional orchestra of 75 musicians in Los Angeles[11] at the Fox Studios Newman Scoring Stage, with some modern synth sounds added.

[13] Williams publicly performed his new Obi-Wan theme for the first time at Star Wars Celebration, a day before the series' premiere.

[14] The full soundtrack album was released digitally by Walt Disney Records on June 29, 2022, a week after the final episode was premiered.

"[18] Jonathan Broxton wrote "In context, though, that’s a different matter, and I remain baffled by the creative decisions that the director, the producers, and seemingly John Williams himself took to limit the use of the legacy Star Wars themes.

The hybrid model we have, while absolutely enjoyable as a listening experience, is ultimately damaging to the dramatic narrative development of the actual story, and that’s basically unforgivable.

"[19] Marvelous Geek Media wrote "What Holt does with this soundtrack is so unique that so few words come close to describing the comfort that they evoke.