Once the first (two) Man of Steel trailer(s) went online, it was only a matter of time before someone recut the the footage with John Williams' score for Superman: The Movie. The iconic theme won't be featured in Zack Snyder's film because the reboot is trying to distance itself from the previous films as much as possible, especially Returns which uses the score front and centre for its excellent-therefore-misleading teaser.
Instead, Warners went with Howard Shore's "The Bridge of Khazad Dum" from Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring for the first look at Man of Steel and I think it worked quite well (except the fact that it made me think of LoTR instead of Superman). Shore's sombre music is in direct opposition to Supes' normal bombastic theme immediately hinting at Man of Steel's vastly different tone (did someone say gritty and real?), only reinforced by the muted colors in the footage.It's pretty clear from the first few beats that this is not Donner or Singer's Superman - it's Synder's and Nolan's. Watch the re-edit to see what a difference a score makes...
The slow-build of Williams' "The Fortress of Solitude" is even a more subdued version of the main Superman theme and it still seems way too cheery for the images. But it does come together nicely for the flying shots at the end and Marlon Brando's signature speech as Jor-El still gives me chills. "They can be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way..." Take that Russell Crowe!
Man of Steel opens June 14, 2013. Directed by Zack Snyder, it stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Russell Crowe. For more about the movie, check out our Blend Film Database
