On Batman Day in September, Michael Giacchino released a snippet of the orchestral rehearsal for the upcoming film about the Caped Crusader. Now, the Academy Award-winning film composer has released the theme he crafted for The Batman.
Giacchino crafted the score for the Matt Reeves-directed film, The Batman. The film will feature Robert Pattinson's debut in the lead role of Bruce Wayne and Zoë Kravitz's Catwoman. In The Batman, Pattinson will be square off against Colin Farrell's Penguin and Paul Dano's Riddler, all while navigating his own grief. Other notable cast members include Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, Barry Keoghan, John Turturro, and Peter Sarsgaard.
The theme is nearly seven minutes long and echoes previous scores for various Batman films. Giacchino's theme for The Batman begins with heavy use of string instruments before they fade, building toward a rather dark, but heroic crescendo. To further compliment the mood of The Batman and its released trailers, the theme takes a shady turn, reminding everyone of the grim adventure The Batman will require Bruce Wayne to embark on.
Giacchino has crafted plenty of scores prior to The Batman, including for a number of superhero films. For Marvel Studios, Giacchino crafted the score for Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. His compositions will also be heard in Taika Waititi's Thor: Love and Thunder that will premiere later this year. Other successful scores include The Incredibles, Star Trek, Ratatouille, Up, Inside Out, Zootopia, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Jurassic World, and Coco. In 2010, Giacchino earned an Academy Award for Best Original Score for Pixar's Up.
Giacchino and Reeves have previously collaborated on a number of other films prior to The Batman. Their first collaboration occurred in 2008 for Reeves' sci-fi thriller, Cloverfield. In 2010, Reeves and Giacchino united once again for the Reeves' horror film, Let Me In. The pair would then come together for a third and fourth time in 2014 and 2017 for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War For the Planet of the Apes. Given the intensity of the projects Giacchino and Reeves have previously collaborated on, there is no other composer who would've been able to bring Reeves' musical vision for The Batman to life.
The Batman's intensity requires a score that will reflect the ongoing events on screen. DC is considered to deal with much darker themes than Marvel, so for those familiar with Giacchino's work, this score will certainly sound different. With both Penguin and The Riddler lurking in the streets of Gotham, the trailers have already suggested that Bruce will have to dig deep to overcome the lethal mind games The Riddler is playing with him. Elements of Bruce's internal battle between what's right and wrong is certainly evident in Giacchino's theme for The Batman.
The Batman will release in theaters on March 4, 2022.
Source: Matt Reeves