Why James Gunn Always Intended To Use John Williams' Superman Theme

Even before the "Superman" trailer flew online, the world got a hint of what was in store thanks to the stunning poster accompanied by a sample of the film's score from rule-breaking composer John Murphy. Well, Murphy's work along with hints of John Williams' iconic theme for Richard Donner's 1978 "Superman: The Movie" — and even if the internet is against it, the inclusion of Williams' theme here shouldn't be open to debate. Still, Gunn has indicated that he wasn't overly focused on honoring what's come before his own take on Superman, so why was Williams' theme included in the first place? And will it even have much of a presence in the actual movie?

Well, just like the rest of the world whenever Superman is mentioned, Williams' legendary tune was playing on a loop in Gunn's head from the moment he started working on "Superman." As he explained at a press event for the film's trailer launch (with /Film's Bill Bria among those in attendance), Gunn saw the theme's inclusion as his way of "harkening back to the past." At the same time, however, the filmmaker knew his Man of Steel was going to need his own theme music, which is why he recruited his "The Suicide Squad" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" collaborator Murphy for the task. Gunn praised the composer for daring to integrate Williams' beloved theme into his music anyway, noting: 

"What's really amazing is how that leads into a lot of other pieces, some of which are coming back to the Williams theme, but some of which are purely John Murphy, goes into that, comes back out, and it's used beautifully throughout the movie."

When it came to such an important element of Superman's history, Gunn said that he didn't hesitate to explain his plans to his composer. Besides DC Studios co-head Peter Safran, Murphy was one of the first people that Gunn showed his "Superman" script to, allowing him to start working on the film's music as soon as possible. "And I said, 'I want to use a version of the Williams theme, but I want to do our own version of it.' And so that's what you hear," Gunn added.

Not that this approach is anything new for Gunn. And as a lot of people know, I write the score, the basic elements of the score beforehand," the filmmaker noted, recalling how his creative process on the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies really started with their soundtracks. "We play those on set while we're shooting, and we did it with this. But it's about finding, with everything with this movie, it's finding that balance between the novel and the traditional and where is that line. And it's accepting both of those things," Gunn admitted.

All this talk of balancing and allowing the old to meet with the new feels like a fitting route to take with the kind of Superman Gunn has in mind: an old-fashioned force for good in a strange new world that might struggle to find a place for him. Thankfully, with these reassuring perspectives, and even in a time when it seems like memorable movie themes have gone, you'll believe a man can try when "Superman" hits theaters on July 11, 2025.