Superman: Teaser Trailer Version of John Murphy’s Film Theme Released

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The teaser trailer version of John Murphy’s Superman theme for writer/director James Gunn’s film was released – here’s a listen!

Published Thu, 19 Dec 2024 11:07:14 -0600

by Ray Flook

While Krypto is sitting like a very good dog at the top of our list of highlights, the theme we heard in the official teaser trailer for writer/director James Gunn’s David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult-starring Superman would be a very respectful second – and now, it’s been officially released WaterTower Music, Warner Bros. Discovery’s in-house music label. The “Theme from Superman (Trailer Version)” was composed by John Murphy (The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), achieving Gunn’s goal for the film musically.

Image: DC Studios Screencap

“I said, ‘I want to use a version of the Williams theme, but I want to do our own version of it.’ 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,” Gunn explained during a press screening of the teaser trailer. Gunn knew that John Williams’ main theme from the 1978 film was too iconic to not be included in some way – in this case, with an electric guitar riff. “It’s finding that balance between the novel and the traditional,” Gunn added.

DC Studios: James Gunn Done with Superman, Batman Origin Stories

Near the end of November, Gunn responded on social media for being accused of “overlooking origin stories” while also calling out DC Studios for focusing on “niche characters to headline their own movies like Sgt. Rock or Swamp Thing” and not focusing enough on characters they believe are better suited to attract a “general audience.” When DC Studios’ “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters’ was unveiled in 2023, we learned that a Swamp Thing film was planned (with James Mangold attached). Recently, rumblings have gotten louder that director Luca Guadagnino (Queer) and Daniel Craig could be reunited for a Sgt. Rock film. And let’s not forget the upcoming Mike Flanagan-penned Clayface move that was recently given a green light.

In terms of superhero origin stories, Gunn isn’t looking to tell Batman’s and Superman’s respective backstories again because we’ve been down that road many times before (“I’m not telling Batman and Superman’s origin stories again because everyone knows them”). But in terms of Swamp Thing not being deserving enough for his own film, Gunn wasn’t having any of it. “Don’t put Swamp Thing in the corner. That’s a project in development we’ve actually announced, and he’s an incredibly well-known character with not only some of the greatest comics of all time but a successful film series and his own TV show, something that could be said of only a very small handful of DC characters,” Gunn added.

DC Studios’ Superman stars David Corenswet (Hollywood) as Superman/Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane. In addition, the Superman: Legacy cast includes Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Nicholas Hoult (The Great) as Lex Luthor, Wendell Pierce (HBO’s The Wire) as Perry White, Isabela Merced (Sicario: Day of the Soldado) as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class) as Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion (The Rookie) as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Metamorpho, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica/The Engineer, Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord, Pruitt Taylor Vince (Murder One, Lady in the Lake) as Jonathan Kent/”Pa Kent,” and Neva Howell (Ghosts of the Ozarks) as Martha Kent/”Ma Kent.”

Superman Teaser to Leap Tall Buildings in a Single Bound This Thursday — Image: DC Studios

Joining them are Beck Bennett (Saturday Night Live) as Daily Planet sports editor Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad) as Daily Planet gossip columnist Cat Grant, and Christopher McDonald as skilled Daily Planet reporter Ron Troupe – with Frank Grillo‘s Rick Flag Sr. (from Creature Commandos and Peacemaker Season 2) set to appear, along with Alan Tudyk in an undisclosed role. Composer John Murphy (28 Days Later, Sunshine, Kick-Ass, The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3) will score the film.