Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer just branched out into unchartered territory.
According to a post on X shared by Turki Alalshikh, chairman of General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, the renowned musician has been recruited to reimagine the kingdom’s national anthem in a bid to honour its legacy.
“I met today with one of the greatest musicians of our timethe legend Hans Zimmer,” tweeted the Saudi official alongside a photo of himself standing next to the composer. “We discussed many future projects that I hope will see the light of day soon, including redistributing the Saudi national anthem with different instruments.”
As per Khaleej Times, the future projects under discussion included creating a musical piece titled Arabia, the possibility of Zimmer composing the soundtrack for the upcoming film Battle of Yarmouk, and the culmination of a “massive” concert in Riyadh. The collaboration aims to celebrate the culture and heritage of Saudi Arabia.
“We agreed on the broad outlines of all these projects, and I hope we will reach a final agreement on them,” added Alalshikh.
Zimmer’s projects are poised to align with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which places significant focus on arts, entertainment, and cultural exchange. Whilst this marks the first time he will be working on such a large scale on a Saudi Arabian project, the musician is no stranger to the Middle East, having performed in the United Arab Emirates as recently as May 2024.
In an interview with UAE publication The National last year, Zimmer shed light on how diversity in music can bridge cultures.
“Now, we have a multitude of voices contributing to film from across the world – from the Middle East as well,” he had noted. Now we’re suddenly all allowed to be part of this wild culture, and that’s really a great thing.”
For the unversed, Zimmer is revered for his contributions to the soundtracks of some of the biggest films in Hollywood, including The Lion King, The Dark Knight trilogy, Gladiator, Interstellar, and Dune, among others.
