I Can't Stop Listening to the New Superman Score!

 When approaching a character as iconic as Superman, a composer faces a fundamental choice...

• Do you create something entirely new OR
• Do you reuse the original theme and risk living in its shadow?

Ultimately, it can feel like a no-win situation.

Choose the first path, and you upset fans who believe the classic theme is essential to the character.

Choose the second, and you upset those who wanted something new and feel the original shouldn't be touched.

For me, I believe the theme itself is a character.

To not use it feels like a bigger disservice than to reinterpret it.

Using the theme doesn't take away from the work of John Williams... it's an expansion on the legacy!

And that's what makes the score for James Gunn's Superman so engaging.

Composers John Murphy and David Fleming didn't just create a modern cover. But they also didn't do a 1:1 copy of the original theme either (similar to what we hear in Superman Returns)

They looked deeper, focusing on a small, almost overlooked moment of musical struggle in the original fanfare.

And in doing so, they were able to embrace Superman's humanity while also honoring the core of Williams' theme.

I found that this new motif is what scores Clark Kent's most personal, vulnerable moments...

Like an emotional conversation with his father that grounds the entire film.

They deconstructed the sound of a superhero to find the sound of humanity.

After watching the film (3 times!!!) and listening to the soundtrack non-stop, I absolutely fell in love with this process.

So I made a full video about it!

I break down the three-note motif they found and show exactly how it's used to tell Superman's story.

Definitely check out my full breakdown below! 

This whole discovery has really made me reflect on my own creative process.

As composers, we often write a theme we love, but then we struggle with developing it further.

It's so easy to get stuck with our initial 30 seconds of an idea, looping it over and over, but it can be difficult how to make it grow into a full, dynamic piece!

Instead, find the most interesting moment like a melodic interval or a specific rhythm and ask, yourself..."What else can this be?"

It’s a reminder that our best new ideas can often hide inside the ones we've already written!

And if you're like me and absolutely love chatting about your favorite scores and want to go even deeper, that's exactly what I do every month inside the Composer Odyssey Membership. 

This is a space I've been putting together where we can hangout, talk about iconic scores together, and help each other apply those lessons to your own music in a dedicated feedback space.

If you want to join, you can learn more here!

And as always... Happy Composing!