Danny Elfman Wants DC To Keep Its Musical Heritage

When Joss Whedon took over for Zack Snyder for Justice League, he had brought in Danny Elfman to make his own score for the film, scrapping the work of BvS composer Junkie XL. Elfman used a lot of old themes including John Williams' theme for Superman as well as his own theme for Tim Burton's Batman. As it turns out, Elfman wants DC to stay true to its rich musical heritage.

Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Elfman explains:

"The whole concept that every time a superhero franchise is rebooted with a new director, then you have to start the music from scratch is a bullshit idea. It's only for the ego of the director or the composer. They need to learn the incredible lesson that Star Wars and James Bond have known for ages, which is that keeping these musical connections alive is incredibly satisfying for the people who see those films."

As an example, Elfman even brought up Spider-Man to illustrate how important it is to embrace musical heritage.

"There's like four different Spider-Man themes at this point, and as a result, he doesn't have a recognizable sound. I told the guys at DC, you have a great musical heritage that you should be proud of and you should keep it alive. And they agreed with me, which is refreshing."

You can kind of understand where Elfman is going with his argument, but I'm always open to hearing new music for rebooted characters—I think it makes them feel a lot newer and fresh. No offense to John Williams, but I actually liked what Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL came up with for Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. I thought I would miss the Williams Superman theme, but An Ideal of Hope is nothing but spectacular.

We don't know how many more DCEU movies Elfman will be working on, but I'm hoping WB brings in some composers who can make some new and incredible motifs for each character. Marvel is yet to come up with some memorable themes, and the music department is one where the DCEU definitely soars.

Catch Justice League now in theaters.

See Also: Zack Snyder Has NOT Seen Justice League