John Williams may be best known for his work with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, but his theme for Superman I could surpass them all. It’s a theme that has endured far beyond Williams’ involvement with the character and has become almost as much a part of him as that S on his chest. James Gunn He certainly thinks so.
“That soundtrack was one of my favorite soundtracks of all time.” Superman director james gunn he said recently at a press event. “When I was a kid, actually, what I liked most about the movie was the music. That’s what I took home more than anyone else.”
So it’s no surprise that, when the first trailer for Gunn’s performance comes out When the version of the character was released, Williams’ theme was there. That was the plan not only from day one, but long before.
“I knew from the beginning what I wanted to do with music,” Gunn said. “I had thought about it a lot. Are we going to do something completely different? Are we going to use Williams’ theme?… I knew we were doing something that looked back to the past and also looked to the future. And so, it was about finding that balance.”
A balance not only between the past and the future, but also between John Williams and John Murphy.
“John Murphy is a composer I loved working with and he started working on the music before the script was even finished,” Gunn said. “He was one of the first people I gave the script to along with Peter Safran and a couple of other people, so I could start writing music. And I said, ‘I want to use a version of Williams’ song, but I want to do our own version.’ And that’s what you hear (in the trailer).”
Gunn then teased how that new version of Williams would be used throughout. “What’s really amazing is how this leads to so many other pieces,” he said. “Some of which goes back to the Williams theme, but others are pure John Murphy. It comes in and out and is used wonderfully throughout the film. And John has worked almost non-stop for the last two years, composing the score.”
The dream, it seems, is that when the children see Superman in July they have the same reaction that Gunn had to Richard Donner’s film in 1978. Great movie, but even better music.
Superman opens July 11.
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