The animated poster for James Gunn’s Superman leaned on a classic score to get the hype started this week. It used a variation of “Superman — Main Theme” by John Williams from the 1978 Superman movie starring Christopher Reeve. During a set visit before the trailer debuted, Gunn told ComicBook and other outlets about the process of choosing music for this momentous project. Superman features an original score by composer John Murphy, who has worked with Gunn on other recent productions. While the poster used a familiar throwback, Gunn assured reporters the score was largely original.
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“There’s nods to Williams, and then also John Murphy’s created this incredibly beautiful score,” the filmmaker shared. Gunn is famous for using popular music soundtracks in movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad, but he said he is not leaning on that strategy here.
“It is a score, not a soundtrack,” he said. “So, it’s not about the songs. There’s a few songs in it, and of course I chose those songs beforehand, but it isn’t like any of my previous movies, really … The score is what drives it. It’s a much, much more of a score film.”
[RELATED: James Gunn Finally Explains Why He Dropped “Legacy” From Superman’s Title]
Murphy was officially confirmed as the composer for Superman in February of 2024. He first worked with Gunn on The Suicide Squad in 2021, replacing Tyler Bates, who had created the scores for several of Gunn’s previous movies, including the first two installments of Guardians. Murphy then stuck with Gunn for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Peacemaker, and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. He is now helping to kick off the DCU.
It’s no surprise that Gunn is leaning on nostalgia in this early stage of promoting Superman, but it makes sense that the movie itself will have an original score. It has a lot to live up to — building on the successes of past depictions of Superman without repeating their mistakes or re-treading familiar territory, and simultaneously trying to launch a shared cinematic universe.
We know little about the story of Superman so far, except that it will pick up when Clark Kent is around 25 years old. We also know it will introduce several other DC heroes, including Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) and Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan). Gunn assured reporters these are “not just cameos,” though they are “supporting cast.”
We may learn more when the full trailer premieres on Thursday, December 19th. Superman hits theaters on July 11, 2025.
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Image courtesy of DC Studios
