Editor’s note: When a movie is rebooted with the same title as the original it is based on, we will reference the new film by adding its year to the title. When addressing the original movie, we will omit the year part.

The heroes of the DC universe are at the beginning of a new phase. This change occurred in 2024 when James Gunn and Peter Safran took charge of this superhero franchise owned by Warner Brothers. They announced a reboot of the heroes by recasting many characters and retelling their stories, while also combining all their media, including movies, TV shows, and games, into one cohesive universe. The big film to kick off this new universe is Superman (2025), featuring one of the most iconic superheroes, which will now be portrayed by a new actor, David Corenswet. For this film new composers have also been brought in, who have not written for a Superman film before. John Murphy was announced first, having worked with James Gunn multiple times. David Fleming was brought in at a later date to help with the score. While both are outstanding composers in their own right, they were not names that would have immediately come to mind for writing the music for a new Superman movie. When I listened to the music before watching the film, I was unfortunately not impressed.
When writing music for a Superman movie, there are two things you can do as a composer. The first is to fully embrace John Williams’s orchestral music for Superman from 1978, with one of the best themes ever written for film music, or you take the second approach and entirely ignore that first score and write something unique for the superhero, as Hans Zimmer has done for Man of Steel. For Superman (2025), a third option was chosen, in which both methods are combined by giving Superman the iconic theme by John Williams, but Murphy and Fleming have put their twist on it by incorporating electric guitars, orchestral elements, and synths. The best example of their version of the famous theme can be heard in “Eyes Up Here.” This theme appears at various key moments in the film, representing Superman and his actions.
The composer duo has also introduced many original themes for other characters and ideas. Lex Luthor is accompanied by an ominous low melody line, as can be heard by guitars in “LuthorCorp,” for example. In “Luthor the Traitor,” the melody is transformed into a grander and more emotional version. The Daily Planet crew also gets its theme, as can be heard in “The Daily Planet,” and it sounds like a tune for a TV news program, which is perfectly suited for what the theme represents. There are more themes to be found, like the ones representing the Justice Gang and the dog Krypto, but the last theme I would like to highlight is the love theme for Lois and Clark. It is a wonderful soothing theme mainly performed on electric guitars, which can be heard in “Lois & Clark” or as the emotional finale in “Walking On Air.”
I was looking forward to seeing this film because Superman is an iconic figure with much potential, not only as a character in a film, but also as a source of powerful scores worthy of representing one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Instead, I saw an entertaining and goofy film in the style of The Guardians of the Galaxy or The Suicide Squad, accompanied by a standard, functional score that just supported the scenes. In the music I also heard uninteresting ostinatos during action sequences, which are a common feature of such sequences in recent action films. The most underwhelming part of the film’s music was how John Williams’s theme was implemented.
The reason the original John Williams theme is magnificent is not only because of the main melody, but also how the entire piece is orchestrated, giving the whole orchestra something to do. Every time I hear the “Superman March,” whether it’s the CD version or performed by an experienced orchestra, I can feel the music resonate within my body, and I can sense the power that represents the Man of Steel. Talking about the Man of Steel, I also have to mention the greatness Hans Zimmer achieved with his representation of Superman in the Man of Steel theme. It is entirely different in style from the orchestral counterpart, but it still evokes the same emotional response. When I listen to the version of the theme made for Superman (2025), there is no emotional response at all, even in the finale, where Superman is at his best in the film. The soundtrack including the theme feels weak and is underwhelming. Ultimately, I wanted a more serious movie with a stronger story and a more powerful, exciting score. Hopefully, I will get to hear more exciting new music in other movies in this new DC universe, because that is something this one definitely lacks.
Listen or buy
- Buy this soundtrack from Amazon or Apple Music
- Listen to this soundtrack on Spotify
Tracklist
The highlights are in bold.
- Home (2:01)
- Last Son (2:45)
- Hammer of Boravia (3:02)
- LuthorCorp (1:36)
- The Daily Planet (0:54)
- Lois & Clark (1:07)
- Eyes Up Here (2:21)
- Justice Gang vs. Kaiju (3:23)
- Intruders (3:24)
- The Message (2:42)
- Secret Harem (2:19)
- The Real Punk Rock (1:28)
- Pocket Universe (1:54)
- 5 Years Time (3:33)
- Something Like a Sun (2:18)
- Jailbreak (1:05)
- The River Pi (3:25)
- Take the T-Craft (1:38)
- Your Choices, Your Actions (2:54)
- Raising the Flag (1:48)
- The Rift (4:52)
- Bases Loaded (3:07)
- Speeding Bullet (2:01)
- Remote Control (3:01)
- Upgrade (1:12)
- Driven by Envy (2:04)
- Look Up (2:45)
- Being Human (1:57)
- Luthor the Traitor (1:50)
- Metropolis (1:17)
- Walking on Air (1:34)
- Punkrocker (4:06)
- The Mighty Crabjoys Theme (1:16)
Total length: 1 hour and 16 minutes
Troll Court (2025)