A motif, crafted by John Williams, embodies a sense of unease. Its initial appearance was in the 1983 movie Return of the Jedi. This tense leitmotif resonates as Wedge Antilles escapes the second Death Star and rejoins the Alliance Fleet just before the Death Star's destruction.
This musical phrase is heard during battles within the 2011 video game Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Beginning with the 2015 picture Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, the motif recurs throughout the sequel trilogy. The 2017 film Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi presents it extensively, with numerous instances of the motif functioning as an ostinato. Furthermore, in that same film, the motif evolves into the desperation motif, which then plays a pivotal role in the "Anthem of Evil" featured in the 2019 movie The Rise of Skywalker. In "They Will Come," a track from the film, a more relaxed version of the tension motif is played right before the "March of the Resistance."
Although ultimately omitted from the 2002 prequel trilogy film Attack of the Clones, the score does contain the tension motif as it was used in The Force Awakens. However, a similar motif is present in the final version of Attack of the Clones, representing the Grand Army of the Republic and as a component of the track "The Arena."
A rendition of the leitmotif appears in unused music from the score of Revenge of the Sith, specifically in a deleted scene depicting Anakin Skywalker's arrival at the Senate office building to rescue Darth Sidious. The motif is also present in unused battle music from The Force Awakens.
The motif's volume increases at the conclusion of "The Phantom Apprentice," an episode from Star Wars: The Clone Wars's seventh season, scored by Kevin Kiner and released in 2020. This music accompanies Ahsoka Tano's reflection on Maul's warnings concerning the impending doomed fate of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order due to the machinations of Darth Sidious.
The tension motif can also be heard in various other films with scores by John Williams, including The Lost World: Jurassic Park—released in 1997, where it accompanies Peter Ludlow's downfall—all films in the Harry Potter film series scored by Williams, Minority Report, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Adventures of Tintin, and The Post.