Given the fact that we are roughly two months from the arrival of Justice League -- DC's massive superhero team-up movie -- it's surprising (nay, shocking) that we still know next to nothing about how Superman (Henry Cavill) is being used. Granted, he was dead at the end of Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice -- "dead" -- but many assumed that Snyder was referencing Superman when he had Alfred (Jeremy Irons) speaking to someone off screen about coming back, and "hope." Now, though, Justice League composer Danny Elfman dropped this tidbit on us, and it has us VERY concerned about how the Man of Steel will be portrayed. Said Elfman:
I instated a moment of the Wonder Woman theme that Hans Zimmer did for Batman Vs. Superman, but I also had two minutes where I had the pleasure of saying, 'Let's do John Williams' Superman.' and that for me was heaven, because now I have a melody to twist, and I'm using it in an actually very dark way, in a dark moment. It's the kind of thing that some fans will notice. Some won't. It's a moment where we're really not sure whose side he's on.
Stop. Right there. Stop. We should ALWAYS know what side Superman is on. He's on the side of justice. Of good, over evil. While we don't know with 100% certainty what Danny Elfman is describing, having not seen Justice League yet, the notion of doing anything dark with John Williams' iconic Superman score is tragic. It's wrong. Williams' Superman score is, hands down, the most joyous and inspirational superhero score of this or any other lifetime. It's the polar opposite of dark. It is light, in musical form:
Danny Elfman's statement to Billboard on the "twist" that he wants to bring to John Williams' legendary Superman theme makes us think that when Kal-El returns from the grave (because we all KNOW he's coming back), he's going to look like this:
In the comics, following the Death of Superman at the hands of Doomsday, the hero returned... in four different forms, all claiming to be Superman. The events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice followed enough of the storyline from the comics to lead us to believe that the next logical step would be to put Henry Cavill in the black Superman suit when we first see him in Justice League. And maybe that's what Danny Elfman means. Maybe the score will play behind this black-suited Superman, and for a moment, the audience won't know if they can trust him. But Justice League embracing a "dark" Superman would be a major mistake. Joss Whedon has to know this. Right?
What do you think of Danny Elfman's comments? Do they concern you? Or do you want to see a "dark" Superman in Justice League when it opens on November 17? Weigh in below.
