John Murphy began writing music for James Gunn’s Superman before the script was finished. Gunn gave the composer an early version so he could start composing, and Murphy later said he wrote pieces before seeing any footage. That is evidence of an unusually early, story-led process—not proof that the complete final score was finished before filming.
When did John Murphy start writing the Superman score?
Murphy was working on the music while Gunn was still developing the script. Gunn said Murphy was among the first people he gave it to, “so that he could start writing music for it.” Gunn described the early collaboration in DC’s December 2024 account of the teaser.
The timing matters: the composer had the story in hand before the screenplay was complete, rather than waiting for a locked cut of the film. Murphy later told The Credits that he had written pieces before seeing a frame, and that Gunn played the music on set. “The story is everything. We’re not scoring to picture. We’re scoring a story. That’s what we do,” he said in an interview published August 6, 2025. Read the interview with Murphy at The Credits.
Was the whole score completed before filming?
No source cited here establishes that the entire final score was complete before cameras rolled. What is established is that Murphy began composing early, wrote some material before seeing footage, and that Gunn played music during filming. Those details show that music was part of the production while the film was being made; they do not establish when every cue was finalized or recorded.
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This is a distinction between composing from the story and scoring to finished images. Murphy’s account describes the former: writing from the narrative before he had a frame to synchronize against. It should not be read as a claim that no music was later adjusted to fit the finished film.
How does the score relate to John Williams’s Superman theme?
Gunn wanted the music to look both backward and forward: he said he hoped to use a version of John Williams’s theme while creating a distinct interpretation. DC described the teaser music as a modern reimagining of Williams’s theme that moves into passages that sometimes recall it and sometimes belong to Murphy’s own material. DC’s explanation of the teaser music supports a balance of reference and new writing, rather than simply reusing Williams’s complete score.
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Co-composer David Fleming described the assignment as exploring the “DNA” of Williams’s theme, calling it a privilege and a humbling one. Fleming discussed the music in Dolby Creator Talks. Murphy and Fleming are both credited as composers on the film’s official DC page. See DC’s official Superman (2025) page.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Who composed the music, and what was released?
John Murphy and David Fleming are credited as composers for Gunn’s 2025 film. The digital soundtrack album, Superman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), is listed by Apple Music with a July 8, 2025 release date, 31 songs and a runtime of 1 hour 9 minutes. Those figures describe the album listing, not the number or duration of all music created during production. View the soundtrack listing on Apple Music.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsDC lists the film’s U.S. opening as July 11, 2025, with international release beginning July 9. That release schedule helps place the soundtrack date in context, but it does not change what the production accounts establish about when the composing began. DC’s film page lists the release information and composer credits.
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