"Across the Stars" functions as the central thematic music for Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. John Williams crafted this piece to underscore the romantic relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala; it appears frequently in the film itself, as well as its sequel, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.
As he had done for the previous four installments of the Star Wars saga, John Williams composed the musical score for the 2002 movie Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. The music was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices. "Across the Stars," the motif representing the love between Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, utilized only the orchestra. The Attack of the Clones soundtrack was made available on CD on April 23, 2002, and as an MP3 download on May 16, 2002.
This love theme, supported by triplet arpeggios, embodies the deepening connection between Padmé Amidala, the former queen and current senator, and Anakin Skywalker, the former slave now a Jedi Knight, as their relationship evolves into love. This forbidden love is eventually formalized through marriage, but it ultimately deteriorates as Anakin succumbs to the dark side.
The theme commences with a deliberate, heartfelt section played by the violas, which sustain long notes, and the harp, which performs recurring triplets. As the strings continue, a solo oboe introduces the main melody. Once the oboe completes half of the melody, the strings conclude the remaining portion, marking the end of the initial section. Subsequently, the strings unite with the harp to play eleven triplet sets before the violins begin the primary melody, previously presented by the oboe. This is complemented by brief flute riffs. The horns then play a short section of the melody before culminating in a passionate and dramatic segment performed by the violins and horns. The violins then transition into two descending phrases, with the second phrase being higher in pitch than the first.
The piece then shifts into a darker tone in F minor, with the low strings repeating a ten sixteenth note riff and the low brass and woodwinds repeating a march-like phrase. The violins then enter to support the low strings. The oboe then alludes to the main melody while the low voices continue their phrases, followed by a horn phrase. This is followed by several pieces of the melody played by trombones, an oboe, and the horns, each followed by two beats played by horns and trombones, and trumpets respectively, with the horns having no phrase after they play the melody. The theme then builds into a violin part emphasized by staccato and legato phrases from the low strings. The horns then assume the melody as the low strings perform additional staccato notes.
The motif then revisits the earlier part where the horns and violins shared the melody, but a half-step lower in E minor. This time, however, the trumpets contribute subtle background phrases consisting of one note per phrase, except for the final phrase. The horns and oboe then take over with the descending part that the violins played earlier. The horns play the first, lower one, and the oboe plays the second, higher one. These two phrases are enhanced by several ascending violin parts. The strings then build leading into another rendition of the darker segment of the theme. The violins then drop out, followed by the tubas and low strings, which leads into the finale of the theme: a harp solo of the main theme succeeded by an English horn solo ending in a long note.
It can be found through Sony Classical on the Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones soundtrack, specifically as the second track titled "Love Theme from Attack of the Clones." It recurs nine more times across five other tracks on the soundtrack. Its first appearance after track two occurs forty-five seconds into "Yoda and the Younglings." The second instance is at three minutes and twenty-four seconds into the same track. The track "Anakin and Padmé" includes the theme at fifty-nine seconds and again at two minutes and eleven seconds. "The Meadow Picnic" features it at one minute and thirty-six seconds. Track twelve, "Love Pledge and The Arena," incorporates the motif three times. The first instance spans from twelve seconds to one minute and forty-eight seconds. The second and third occur at six minutes and nine seconds and seven minutes and eleven seconds, respectively. The composition makes its final two Attack of the Clones appearances at three minutes and fifty-eight seconds and five minutes and thirty-six seconds into the last track, "Confrontation with Count Dooku and Finale."
The theme is reprised in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, most notably twenty-five seconds into "Anakin's Dream."
The piece is featured in both Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. In Revenge of the Sith, it is heard for the last time as Padmé contemplates her situation upon arriving on Mustafar.
"Across the Stars" is also audible in the trailer for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, as well as in Chapter 1 of the Star Wars: Clone Wars microseries. The composition appears in both Star Wars: Battlefront and Star Wars: Battlefront II. The theme is also present in the title screen of the game Star Wars: The New Droid Army. It is also used in the end credits of LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game and the video game adaptation of Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith, and in the first level's cutscenes of LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars.
Versions of "Across the Stars" are featured in the 2011 massively multiplayer online role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic.
The sheet music for the theme is included in the Attack of the Clones music book published by Bantha Music. The book was released for the following instruments and editions: trumpet, piano, easy piano, clarinet, tenor sax, and alto sax.
The melody of "Across the Stars" serves as a motif in "The Flight to Neverland," a track composed by John Williams for the 1991 film Hook. The dies irae phrase from "Across the Stars" is also present in "Back to America" from the 1999 film Angela's Ashes, also composed by Williams. The same phrase is part of Maurice Jarr's "Lara's Theme," created for the 1965 film Doctor Zhivago.
Alan Silvestri incorporated a brief tribute to the theme in his score for Night at the Museum II: Battle of the Smithsonian, which appears near the beginning of the track "On Your Toes."