James Gunn should use John Williams’ Superman theme again

Having been exposed to a plethora of old movies over the past several years, it’s pretty clear that nostalgia as an audience is our kryptonite. Then again, a return to the franchise could silence the naysayers the moment they hear a few notes from a familiar musical score that will have us sitting up in our seats and our chests puffing out involuntarily. That’s what many fans undoubtedly felt as they browsed the stunning new poster James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ (a movie that really needs work)they captured the gentle breeze of John Williams’ unmistakable theme from 1978’s “Superman: The Movie.” “Superman” (as far as we know) isn’t a legacy, but it wouldn’t matter at all if it still used Williams’ music.

Given the amount of fire emojis and praise heaped in when the one-sheet was unveiled, people are happily expressing their joy at reapplying the beloved composer’s work to this all-new iteration of DC’s poster boy. But other people weren’t so happy. On X, one user wrote“The fact that they’re using John Williams’ theme from the Christopher Reeves movies really confirmed to me that this movie was going to be dead on arrival.” Others expressed hope The theme is being reused for the trailer only; like Posted by another user“Can we please stop the John Williams ‘Superman’ theme.”

Why though? What’s the unwritten rule that a reboot of a familiar hero must come with a completely new musical theme? Sure, it might send us on a musical trip down memory lane, but that’s a risk franchises shouldn’t be afraid to take. Superman shouldn’t be getting entirely new music every time a new actor plays him, especially when a certain secret agent with a license to kill hasn’t changed his own theme song since 1962.

Just as a few blasts of the trumpet from John Williams’ theme song “Superman: The Movie” bring instant chills, so too does hearing the brass section blast out a bit of John Barry and Monty Norman’s famous James Bond theme. In a microcosm of music, reusing the same song over and over again is the thing fans hate to see. This makes it even more impressive that the James Bond franchise has gotten away with doing this for over 60 years now.

Before Daniel Craig took over as a secret agent, the connections between all the Bond films were very tenuous. James Bond himself has been played by different actorsas were all the Qs, Ms, and Moneypennys. Even Blofeld, Bond’s longtime nemesis in the series, has been played by actors ranging from Donald Pleasance to Telly Savalas, yet the audience is never shaken (or moved) by hearing the classic Bond theme tune whenever they check in on James. If the famous member of His Majesty’s Secret Service gets a pass, there’s no reason why The Last Son of Krypton can’t, too.

Considering the composer working on Gunn’s “Superman” movie, it’s entirely possible that Williams’ classic music will be incorporated into the film. Gunn announced It was announced earlier this year that his “The Suicide Squad” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” collaborator John Murphy would handle the music for the Man of Tomorrow in his film. As an author he doesn’t play by the rules, Murphy He may incorporate some of Williams’ works in any way he sees fit. This would also set a precedent for other franchise reboots to follow suit and make this type of approach more common moving forward.

I listen. Tom Holland’s wall-crawling film swung into a larger-than-life version of the 1960s “Spider-Man” cartoon theme. “Ms. Marvel” paved the way for the X-Men’s debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe When I used the 90s theme from “X-Men: The Animated Series”. They weren’t the first to do something like this and they certainly won’t be the last, simply because those signature songs are all completely slapdash. In fact, I’d bet my broom that whenever Max’s “Harry Potter” series comes out, Williams’ work from the “Harry Potter” movies will be incorporated to add some extra magic to this reboot as well. That’s not to say that new composers shouldn’t dare to add their own contribution to any iteration of the franchise they’re helping to bring to life, but just like revisiting some characters and their worlds, the same should apply to the music that helped kick off the property’s on-screen journey in the first place. the first.

As for “Superman,” the use of Williams’ music, combined with a cool color scheme that harkens back to the original poster for Richard Donner’s film, should draw fans into the idea that Gunn has a winner on his hands here — one that preserves the memory of one of the best And the most beloved iterations of the Man of Steel are close to his chest. Just like Kal-El himself, Williams’ theme to Superman is impenetrable, so don’t bother trying to fix what was never broken.

“Superman” opens in theaters on July 11, 2025.