After the surprise success of Deadpool last week, we can properly say that 2016 is the year of the superhero movie - with Captain America: Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse, Suicide Squad, and Doctor Strange all coming up later this year. Of course, the biggest one from Camp DC is Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, which will see DC’s two biggest superheroes of all-time going mano y mano for two-and-a-half hours (or so).
Comic book fans have been waiting for a long time to see the Dark Knight (here, played by Ben Affleck) and the Man of Steel (Henry Cavill) together on the big screen in live-action. It could prove to be an impressive experience, based on everything that’s been shown in trailers and TV spots for the film. At the very least, director Zack Snyder’s superhero matchup movie is one the major film “events” of this year, complete with a score that aims to be similarly larger than life.
While the Batman v Superman soundtrack won’t be released in full until March, Warner Bros.’ WaterTower Music record label is making a few tracks from the film’s score available for a free preview. Revered film composer Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL (who also worked on Deadpool and Mad Max: Fury Road) teamed up to make the music for the new superhero movie. The tracks below, titled “The Red Capes Are Coming” and “Their War Here”, are just a taste of the score’s propulsive and epic sound. Take a listen:
A few weeks ago, WaterTower Music also released a preview of Batman’s theme from the new movie (which is titled “Men Are Still Good” (The Batman Suite)) - a theme that is somewhat reminiscent of Batman’s theme from the Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Hans Zimmer co-wrote the score for Nolan’s trilogy with James Newton Howard, but collaborated with Junkie XL on Batman V Superman is order to better distinguish the Batman theme for Snyder’s movie from his past comic book/superhero work.
While Snyder’s Man of Steel - the film that began the DC Extended Universe that will continue with Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad - was a polarizing superhero movie, Zimmer’s score for the Superman movie was something worth admiring. It’s almost as memorable as John Williams’ score for the original Superman movies from the late 1970s and early ’80s, while at the same time having a modern edge and contemporary blockbuster vibe. Thus far, it appears as though Zimmer and Junkie XL may have created something equally notable with the Batman V Superman soundtrack, but we’re going to wait and see (listen) when it’s released on March 18.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice opens on March 25, 2016, which is followed by Suicide Squad on August 5, 2016; Wonder Woman on June 23, 2017; Justice League Part One on November 17, 2017; The Flash on March 16, 2018; Aquaman on July 27, 2018; Shazam on April 5, 2019; Justice League Part Two on June 14, 2019; Cyborg on April 3, 2020; and Green Lantern Corps. on June 19, 2020.
Source: WaterTower Music
