A new report on the musical score for James Gunn's Superman may give fans a reason to be concerned about the movie's melodies ahead of its release.
Superman continues to push forward on its promotional tour ahead of its July release, giving fans plenty to look forward to for David Corenswet's Man of Steel. Highlighting his first major adventure without a true origin story, this film will introduce fans to a brand-new universe in the DCU's first theatrical release.
One major talking point for fans in terms of trailers thus far has been the film's score, which takes inspiration from the legendary theme created by composer John Williams. Moving forward to Superman's release, the big question is what else viewers will hear from a music perspective.
James Gunn's Superman Movie Score - Reason For Concerns?
According to Film Music Reporter, composer David Fleming is now set to write part of the score for James Gunn's Superman ahead of its July 11 debut. Fleming has "additional music" credits on recent hits like Top Gun: Maverick, The Lion King (2019), and the first two Dune movies.
This marks the first time any standalone Superman movie had a score written by multiple composers, as Fleming will team up with composer John Murphy. Murphy composed the scores for Gunn's last two movies: The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Fans are theorizing that Fleming is a last-minute addition to add musical themes that could resonate more deeply with test audiences. However, the concern comes from the possibility that Superman may not have one distinct "voice" from a single musician, which could lead to the score feeling disjointed.
For reference, the full list of composers for every previous solo Superman movie can be seen below:
- Superman: The Movie - John Williams
- Superman II - Ken Thorne
- Superman III - Ken Thorne
- Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - Alexander Courage, John Williams (new themes adapted by Courage)
- Superman Returns - John Ottman
- Man of Steel - Hans Zimmer
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Hans Zimmer, Junkie XL
- Superman - John Murphy, Dan Fleming
Currently, DC Studios is ramping up the marketing tour for Superman (including a behind-the-scenes look at the set with characters like Metamorpho).
Will a Two-Composer Score Negatively Affect Superman?
Looking at recent history, there have been a couple of comic-book outings with multiple composers.
One instance was in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, which had Brian Tyler developing the score with additional music coming from legendary Batman composer Danny Elfman. That film stood out as the only Avengers film not scored by Alan Silvestri, which stood out more than the movie using multiple composers.
That trend reared its head again with 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder, which was scored by MCU regular Michael Giacchino (who also directed Werewolf by Night) and Nami Melamud. However, the Phase 4 sequel did not land for fans on multiple levels beyond what was heard musically.
Looking at Fleming's recent credits, the movies on which he has worked on the music have performed quite well with fans, with the music being especially praised. While there is a chance his voice could clash with Murphy's thematically, Gunn's comic book movies have all fared well from a score perspective over the years.
With over half a dozen villains in line to fight the Last Son of Krypton, Murphy and Fleming have a chance to bring some exciting musical themes to help tell this story. While the concern about clashing themes and styles is still present, nothing can be determined until the score can be heard and seen on screen in full.
Superman will soar into theaters on July 11.
