Hans Zimmer met with Saudi royal advisor Turki Alalsheikh to discuss "future projects," including a new version of the Saudi national anthem.
Even though you may not have heard the name Hans Zimmer before, it is pretty much inevitable that you have heard his music. The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean, and basically 80% of all Nolan films have been blessed with his magical, musicaltouch. Now, he has been sent a more unusual offer from the Middle East. Here's everything you need to know about the collaboration.
Zimmer and Alalshiekh Discuss Future
General Entertainment Authority’s Turki Alalshiekh has reached out to Zimmer in order to discuss "future projects," which include a reinterpretation of the country’s national anthem, "Long Live the King," with different instruments rather than the classical fanfare. Or how Saudi Arabia would put it, you know, like the quote from the good guy in that kids' movie. This national anthem was commissioned by the first king of modern Saudi Arabia and was written by an Egyptian composer in 1947. Furthermore, he is set to score the new production of the historical Battle of Yarmouk, which took place over 1,000 years ago.
altkyt alyom bshkhs yaatbr mn aaathm almosykyyn fy aasrna alhadr...alastor Hans Zimmer ...tnakshna kthyra fy alaadyd mn almsharyaa almstkbly alty atmn an tr alnor kryba... omnha aaaad tozyaa alnshyd alotny alsaaody balat mkhtlf oayda aaml mktoaa mosyky bmsm Arabia mstoha mn bldy alghaly... pic.twitter.com/KoI26t4iRl
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) January 20, 2025
At the current stage, they have agreed on a broad outline, but a final agreement has yet to be set. This would be a great catch for Saudi Arabia, since Hans Zimmer is a very innovative composer. He once used a ticking watch to represent time in Interstellar. So maybe now we'll have the sound of lashes in D minor?
Money Makes The World Go Round
This collaboration is just a tiny step into Saudi Arabia's 'Saudi Vision 2030' goal, which aims to create a thriving economy with a high quality of life and improve the image of Saudi Arabia in the world. Vision 3030 would be a more realistic goal, since Saudi Arabia is basically on every list for the countries with the worst human rights records. Public executions, the death penalty for homosexuality, and a total ban on protests – the clocks in Saudi Arabia seemingly haven’t moved since the current national anthem was written. Let's remind ourselves that this 1.3 trillion-dollar project is only possible because Littlefoot's mom died in the wrong place. Gee, thanks for that.
But that’s nothing money can’t fix. How about the Joy Awards, the celebration of Saudi Arabian talents, with guests like Morgan Freeman, Matthew McConaughey, Christina Aguilera, and more? If Hans gets bored, he can even get travel tips from tourism ambassador Lionel Messi or watch Ronaldo play football, with plenty of free seats for the composer to choose from. Like Ricky Gervais said to the Golden Globes crowd, "If ISIS had a streaming service, you would be calling your agents." Well, we’re getting there.
What do you think of the collaboration? Would you accept such a paycheck if you were Hans Zimmer? Tell us in the comments.