UPDATE: Okay, after re-reading the Huver piece it may be that Zimmer is simply offering his thoughts on what should be done with the Superman score, not necessarily that he will be scoring the film. For now let’s just say he’s on record thinking the score should be reinvented, but not that he is the confirmed composer.
At a DVD/Blu-ray party for the upcoming December 7 release of Christopher Nolan’s Inception, Hans Zimmer was on hand and spoke with NBC San Diego‘s Scott Huver and confirmed he will be scoring discussed the score for Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman: Man of Steel and that he will indeed be taking a crack at falls on the side of reinventing the score and not simply offering a new rendition of John Williams’s classic Superman theme.
“It’s a hard one,” mused Zimmer, “but I followed one of the most iconic things on Batman with Chris [Nolan] as well, and it’s the same thing. You are allowed to reinvent, but you have to try to be as good or at least as iconic and it has to resonate and it has to become a part of the zeitgeist. That’s the job. On Gladiator I remember people always talking about Spartacus and I kept telling them, ‘When you saw Spartacus and how it affected it you, that’s how I want a modern audience to be affected by what we do now.’ So I think ultimately you’re supposed to reinvent.”
The scoring topic came up around these parts previously as David wrote a Ten Tips for Zack Snyder’s ‘Superman’ piece in which he said, “Begin with a new score and work from there. Let’s leave John Williams’s classic Superman theme where it belongs and start anew, and by anew I don’t mean bringing in Linkin Park or the Chemical Brothers to do a remix.” The statement generated plenty of conversation among readers and should Zimmer’s suggestion come to fruition David may be getting his wish.
Meanwhile, in an interview with HitFix, Nolan’s wife and producer Emma Thomas said that while Nolan remains a producer on Superman, the film has been handed off to Snyder as Nolan will now focus on The Dark Knight Rises. HitFix, however, makes note, Thomas reiterated they brought it to an appropriate screenplay and it’s now Snyder’s picture.
Oh, and for those wondering, Zimmer is also scoring Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises telling Huver, “[Chris] was going to come over next week… We start early. I know he’s puttering around with ideas, and we sort of sneak up on things.”
As for who will star as the Man of Steel, Ben Affleck’s name has popped up and he recently admits he at least discussed the role with Warner execs though it appears it never reached any serious level. Talking with Deadline he offers the following quote:
“The one benefit of having done all kinds of movies as an actor is, you learn the pros and cons of being tempted to do a really big movie because it costs a lot of money… With Superman, I think they’re going to do a great version. Chris Nolan is brilliant and they’ve got a great director for it. I’ve love to do something like Blade Runner, but a lesson I’ve learned is to not look at movies based on budget, how much they’ll spend on effects, or where they will shoot. Story is what’s important. Also, there are a lot of guys ahead of me on the list to do epic effects movies.”
So don’t expect to see Affleck in Superman’s tights, but did I sense a small jab at Daredevil in that quote?
So there you have it, and now it’s time to discuss… Are you upset about the scoring change or happy to hear Zimmer will be taking over the reigns after what he did with the score for Nolan’s Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and Inception?
