David Fleming & John Murphy/The Score & Composer Thread

[GreenKToo]

After listening to the new preview from the Gunn video, yeah, less of a fan of the John Williams theme being directly used in this.


For the same reasons that people have pointed out to you earlier in this thread. You can reference the Williams theme and I thought it was subtle enough in that first snippet of the score that it worked, but in that Gunn preview, it's just straight up reusing it which is massively disappointing imo and way too clingy to the John Williams theme instead of creating a new unique theme for this iteration of the character. Hans Zimmer made that aspect work with the MOS theme regardless of what anyone thinks of the Snyder movies.

I may be wrong, but I bet they'll be a new theme also at some point in this.

 

[Arachnerd]

Oh yeah, but I think that subtle hum nod should have sufficed instead of directly quoting the main motif in that Gunn preview.

 

[BeserkerHilf]

And it works for Superman in different iterations. It worked for Reeve, Routh, and Cavill. It can be rearranged so it sounds different and fresh.

No reason why it can’t work with Corenswet’s version.

Rubbish: Superman Returns failed big time as a result of trying to be a direct continuation of Donner's movie. They tried so many times to get a Superman movie off the ground that they finally said, "Fine, here's more". Additionally, Danny Elfman using both legacy themes in Justice League was just about the lamest attempt to turn general audiences around on the franchise. Any objective viewer of that movie rolled their eyes at their inclusions.

This is exactly the point of my criticism of the Superman fandom. Reeve's performance and Donner's movie as a whole is absolutely defining. It's not 1978 anymore, though, and the sooner corporate DC disregards this undercurrent notion that he be more like Reeve, the better his chances are at succeeding. TAS and Smallville both did fine without pulling from 1978. Smallville did occassionally, but it didn't dictate the show's entire course.

All signs are pointing to Gunn pulling inspiration from the best of this century's comics, so I'm hoping for a defining version of the character for this point in time. It really sucks to see them rely so much on the 1978 well.

 

[Sverdlovski]

Rubbish: Superman Returns failed big time as a result of trying to be a direct continuation of Donner's movie.

That's not why SR failed IMO.

Regardless, Gunn's Superman is not a continuation of anything, so it's a moot point.

 

[BobJM]

When it works, it works. I’m never mad to hear the original theme, though I did like Zimmer too.

Just want to throw some Shirley Walker love out there too

 

[Sawyer]

When it works, it works. I’m never mad to hear the original theme, though I did like Zimmer too.

Just want to throw some Shirley Walker love out there too

STAS underrated as hell.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

Shirley will always be the unsung hero of the DCAU, her scores were iconic

 

[DorkyFresh]

Ya know between David and Rachel's auras being so similar to Chris and Margot's, and now them pulling so heavily from the Williams theme, this is turning out to be a better version of Superman Returns!

 

[Sawyer]

Ya know between David and Rachel's auras being so similar to Chris and Margot's, and now them pulling so heavily from the Williams theme, this is turning out to be a better version of Superman Returns!

Helps not to have a 22 year old playing Lois.

 

[Gu3ree]

John Williams is still the definitive Superman theme for me.

I liked the score and main theme for Lois & Clark by Jay Gruska. Also Superman The Animated Series by Shirley Walker.

While it wasn't Superman, I liked Smallville's composer Mark Snow. Many pieces to name. But one in particular that comes to mind is the Lex Luthor theme used in the pilot episode. After the meteor shower hits, you see Lionel searching for Lex. You hear this melody of tragedy playing. I wish that theme was used in the rest of the series. You only heard it again in season 2 episode 7.

Shirley Walker also had an interesting theme for Lex Luthor which you could hear played again at least once in an episode of Justice League Unlimited.

 

[Gamma Goliath]

Whats funny is Williams theme and Walkers theme for Superman, both are organized in this way that when you hear it, you can sing the words "superman" to the theme it self. They both evoke so much energy and optimism, I think that's what makes them so classic. They represent the character so well.

 

[Silvermoth]

Oh I thought I was the only one that did that lmao

 

[GreenKToo]

Lex will need his own theme as well. Something thats the polar opposite of Superman's.

I think that in the mind of Lex, he sees himself as an equal, or even better, than Superman, so maybe they'll take superman's theme and somehow distort it for Lex.

 

[Dave McFly]

When it works, it works. I’m never mad to hear the original theme, though I did like Zimmer too.

Just want to throw some Shirley Walker love out there too

I always loved her theme for him I like that the extended version plays over the movie length pilot I had it on DVD sadly when I got the series on Blu Ray they split it up into the way the episodes aired .

yeah and I have a soft spot for Lois and Clark theme too:

 

[Scarlet Spider]

Only Gunn could ask for a electric guitar version of the Williams theme.



Can't wait to hear it in the film.

It sounds glorious.

 

[B]

Just wrote about this in the reaction thread, but after hearing the electric guitar portion of the soundtrack for the teaser, I'm excited to hear more of the films soundtrack & in particular the main title theme if the teasers anything to go by.

 

[Pennywise]

 

[Scarlet Spider]

Official upload.

It's so good!

 

[TheSlickTony]

Official upload.

It's so good!

 

[Lencho01]

I’m feeling the sound of John Murphy Williams.

 

[Sverdlovski]

I’m feeling the sound of John Murphy Williams.

Don't ever do that again. Blasphemy!

 

[Chris B]

The Williams theme is hands down one of my favorite pieces of music so I've always been biased towards bringing it back.

I'm really liking Murphy's take on it so far.

 

[Daywalker89]

Im genuinely not pleased with the use of John Williams score in this teaser. That is Reeve's Era and one i cherish dearly. That slow guitar version is just a easy pull at the heart strings for the modern audience. I really hope this is not some fandom attempt at JW score throughout the full feature film. That will royally piss me off tbh. Glad the trailer is being received overwhelming positive though.

 

[donuts]

Im genuinely not pleased with the use of John Williams score in this teaser. That is Reeve's Era and one i cherish dearly. That slow guitar version is just a easy pull at the heart strings for the modern audience. I really hope this is not some fandom attempt at JW score throughout the full feature film. That will royally piss me off tbh. Glad the trailer is being received overwhelming positive though.

The director turned to John Murphy, who composed the scores for Gunn’s 2021 DC film “The Suicide Squad” and his 2023 Marvel film “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” “I said, ‘I want to use a version of the Williams theme, but I want to do our own version of it,’” Gunn said. “That leads into a lot of other pieces, some of which harken back to the Williams theme, but some of which are purely John Murphy.”

The director brought Murphy in at the very start of the process — a rare early appointment for film composers — sending him preliminary drafts of the screenplay nearly two years ago. Gunn then played some of Murphy’s initial passes at a score on the set while they were shooting the film. “It’s finding that balance between the novel and the traditional.”

‘Superman’ Trailer: A Bloodied Man of Steel With Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Krypto the Superdog: ‘We’re Embracing All of the Mythology,’ Says James Gunn

The first trailer for 'Superman' is out, following a preview with director James Gunn and stars David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult.

variety.com

 

[Primal Slayer]

Im genuinely not pleased with the use of John Williams score in this teaser. That is Reeve's Era and one i cherish dearly. That slow guitar version is just a easy pull at the heart strings for the modern audience. I really hope this is not some fandom attempt at JW score throughout the full feature film. That will royally piss me off tbh. Glad the trailer is being received overwhelming positive though.

Superman films need to move beyond it.