After scoring all three films in Christopher Nolan‘s THE DARK KNIGHT trilogy (along with James Newton Howard), composer Hans Zimmer is gearing up to return to the DC superhero world with BATMAN VS SUPERMAN. Zimmer, who is currently at work on Nolan’s next outing, INTERSTELLAR, just supplied the score for THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, but has his sights clearly set on bringing the noise to Zack Snyder‘s next entry in the MAN OF STEEL franchise (or is it the JUSTICE LEAGUE franchise? Who knows…), saying:
“We’ve already had a couple of chats, and once I finish the movie that I shall not talk about I will probably head over to where Zack is shooting his movie and just hang out a bit and see if we can come up with any ideas.”
Zimmer is well aware of the pressure in revisiting the Batman world, as his THE DARK KNIGHT score is so ingrained with Nolan’s universe. Creating a new theme for the Caped Crusader is certainly on his mind:
“That’s my problem, that’s my dilemma. I don’t want to betray, if that’s the right word, the Dark Knight movies. That was Christian, it was Christian’s role. It’s not just that it was nine years of our lives, so you want to stay honest and honourable to that period. So it’s really about, ‘Is there something else I can find that I haven’t tapped into?’ Which I don’t know until I sit down with Zack.”
As a lifelong fan of Zimmer’s I’m happy to have him return to this universe, but I know some may feel trepidatious about it. There are those who feel weary of Zimmer’s tunes and the composers he mentors, which I get to an extent, but ultimately Zimmer gets the job done and usually does a tremendous job. MAN OF STEEL fit the film exceptionally, moving away from John Williams classic and revered score, and creating something entirely new for the character of Superman. Zimmer definitely has his work cut out for him, though, as he’s also got Wonder Woman’s theme (and potentially more if the cameo rumors continue to stack up) to contend with. Let’s hope the mix of characters don’t distract from a succinct score.
BATMAN VS SUPERMAN is set for May 6, 2016.