by Few characters in superhero movie history has been brought to life on the big screen as often as Superman, most recently by Zack Snyder within the DC Extended Universe. And with every new iteration of Superman comes a new round of theme music – most of which has become iconic in the annals of movie scores over the years.
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Superman’s most memorable theme comes from music legend John Williams in the 1970s and ’80s before Hans Zimmer took over composing duties within the DCEU. This included giving the last son of Krypton his own music in 2013’s Man of Steel, which has become memorable alongside Henry Cavill’s performance as Clark Kent and Superman.
But according to a new post on social media, that almost wasn’t the case, as Snyder and his team examined a potential blast to the past before Zimmer came on board.
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The musical score is a quintessential part of any superhero movie, as shown often from composers like Alan Silvestri with the last two Avengers movies and Michael Giacchino with the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy. Marvel even took the opportunity in No Way Home to bring elements of musical themes from both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s movies to bring back memories of their own pre-MCU solo adventures.
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For the DCEU’s take on Superman, having John Williams theme would have certainly evoked the feelings of Christopher Reeves’ Man of Steel from decades ago as Henry Cavill took over the role. But in the end, the franchise got its own unique voice with Hans Zimmer’s score, taking the superhero genre further into the 21st century with a thrilling theme as Superman flew into battle.
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Any studio thinking about using John Williams’ music wouldn’t be making a mistake, especially considering how many iconic scores he’s created across the movie landscape over the years. But in the end, bringing something unique and new to the picture is usually a good direction as well.
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