Junkie XL Issues Statement on Being “Replaced” On Justice League

Composer Junkie XL, who scored Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with Hans Zimmer and also did the music for Mad Max: Fury Road and 300: Rise of an Empire, among others, issued a statement indicating that he did not leave the Justice League movie by choice.

That he was gone wasn’t new information, but it seemed when the announcement came earlier today that it was the composer and not the studio who had opted for the split.

“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,” said Junkie XL — real name Tom Holkenberg — via Twitter. “It pains me to leave the project, but a big thanks to Zack for asking me to be part of his vision, and I wish Danny, Joss and Warner Bros. all the best with Justice League.”

Earlier today, news broke that Avengers: Age of Ultron composer Danny Elfman had replaced Junkie XL on the project, which is currently in post-production. Holkenberg, who also recently left the superhero sequel Deadpool 2, will move on to Tomb Raider.

Justice League is undergoing some reshoots, which are being overseen by Age of Ultron filmmaker Joss Whedon. Justice League director Zack Snyder left the film following a family tragedy.

Aside from Avengers, Elfman boasts an impressive resume with superhero films. In the past, the musicians has worked with Tim Burton and worked on Batman and Batman Returns. Elfman also worked with Sam Raimi on Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 at Sony.

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In Justice League, fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.

Justice League is directed by Zack Snyder, from a screenplay by Chris Terrio, based on a story by Snyder and Terrio, and stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Amy Adams, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J. K. Simmons, and Ciarán Hinds.