For the last 15 years David Arnold has been the go-to-guy when it comes to scoring James Bond films. Brought on for Tomorrow Never Dies in 1997, he has written the music for all of the 007 adventures since, including The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. But just like all of the other Bond composers, Arnold's time has ended and now his replacement has apparently been named.
James Bond fansite MI6 is reporting that Thomas Newman has been brought on board to write the score for the Sam Mendes-directed Skyfall. A ten-time Academy Award nominee, Newman's previous work includes films such as Wall-E, Finding Nemo, and The Good German. The news isn't too surprising, as the composer has worked on all of Mendes' previous films, with the exception of Away We Go. Should the story be true, Newman will be only the ninth different person to write music for a James Bond film. The others include Monty Norman, John Barry, George Martin, Marvin Hamlisch, Bill Conti, Michael Kamen, Eric Serra and the aforementioned David Arnold. The film is currently in production and stars Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Naomi Harris, Albert Finney, Ben Whishaw, and Helen McCrory.
Arnold has done a great job over the last decade and a half, but it will be interesting to get new blood into the mix. Obviously it helps that he has such a close connection with Mendes, but considering the director has never made a movie like a James Bond adventure before, so I must wonder how their approach will change. Skyfall is set to arrive in theaters on November 9, and for more about the film be sure to head on over to our Blend Film Database.
