Image: Warner Bros
John Williams’ score for Superman: The Movie is one of the most beloved and iconic pieces of movie music around. So even though the latest cinematic incarnation of the Man of Steel has his own excellent theme, we’re very happy to hear that Danny Elfman’s Justice League soundtrack will bring Williams’ unmistakable Superman theme back to screens.
The tidbit comes from a new interview Elfman did with Billboard, where he also hints that some of the same style of work he used for the Tim Burton Batman movie will make its way into Justice League, too:
It was great. It was like I never left because I’m using the same thematic material that I used back then. It never actually went away [Laughs.] It just was great fun.
But it’s what Elfman says about bringing back Williams’ Superman: The Movie theme that’s the most interesting part of the interview — not just because the piece is back, but because, according to Elfman, it’s twisted and used in a moment where Superman’s status as friend or foe to the League is not so certain:
There are a few little fan moments. I instated a moment of the Wonder Woman theme that Hans Zimmer did for Batman Vs. Superman, but I also had two minutes where I had the pleasure of saying, “Let’s do John Williams’ Superman.” And that for me was heaven, because now I have a melody to twist, and I’m using it in an actually very dark way, in a dark moment. It’s the kind of thing that some fans will notice. Some won’t. It’s a moment where we’re really not sure whose side he’s on.
While we know that Superman’s return will play a major factor into Justice League, the idea of him not quite being himself and potentially even a temporary foe to the League is new. But hey, we’ll take it how we can get it.