Danny Elfman To Score ‘Justice League,’ Will Probably Charge More Than $1
Elfman returns…to superhero movies.
Danny Elfman, the composer for classic superhero movies like Tim Burton’sBatmanand Sam Raimi’sSpider-ManandSpider-Man 2, has signed on to scoreJustice League. This may throw a wrench in Elfman’s recently announced plans toscore smaller films for $1— I’m pretty sure Warner Bros. will pay him a little bit more than that, at least.
Elfman will be joining his previous collaboratorJoss Whedon, who he worked with onAvengers: Age of Ultron, in the post-production stage ofJustice League, according toThe Hollywood Reporter. Whedon took over the project from directorZack Snyder, who left due to tragicfamily circumstances, for additional photography and post-production.
Elfman was presumably brought on by Whedon, taking over the job from Antonius Tom Holkenborg, AKA Junkie XL, who had been working with Snyder on the film. Holkenborg scoredBatman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and worked on films likeMad Max: Fury RoadandDeadpool. Holkenborg told THR:
“As my mentor Hans Zimmer told me — you haven’t made it in Hollywood as a composer until you get replaced on a project. So I guess [I] finally graduated this week. It pains me to leave the project, but a big thanks to Zack for asking me to part of his vision, and I wish Danny, Joss and Warner Bros all the best withJustice League.”
This is not the first time Whedon and Elfman have worked together late in the stages of a movie. Elfman was also brought on toAge of Ultronto add to the music already written by Brian Tyler.
But his role as an eleventh-hour composer is not what Elfman is famous for. He has composed some of the most recognizable superhero scores of all time. While Hans Zimmer has been praised for his modern scores in films likeThe Dark Knight, his Batman themes aren’t as instantly iconic as Elfman’s GothicBatmantheme was.
While Elfman’s score forSpider-Mandidn’t have the same hook as hisBatmanwork, it still boasted that sweeping, inspirational sound of classic blockbuster scores.
HisAvengers: Age of Ultronscore falls more in the vein of modern superhero films today, forgoing a recognizable theme for a climactic musical build-up.
Still, Elfman seems to prefer more traditional, orchestral takes over the guitar riff-heavy scores that the DC Extended Universe has preferred up to this point. Could this signal a return to the classic superhero movie score inJustice League? It would be even more incredible if he snuck in his BurtonBatmantheme in there, though that seems unlikely. I anticipate Elfman’s work on this film nonetheless —Batman v. Superman’s score didn’t impress me outside of Wonder Woman’s theme, which was composed by Zimmer. So Elfman will be a welcome replacement, even if the constant barrage of news aboutJustice Leaguechanges mere months before its release is a bit worrisome.
