John Williams’ iconic Superman theme almost made it into Zack Snyder’s 2013 reboot Man of Steel, but Warner Bros. wouldn’t allow it.

Man of Steel was a radical overhaul for Superman, which proved divisive amongst fans. The film took the character into darker territory than had been explored on film before and brought with it a new soundtrack by legendary maestro Hans Zimmer.

However, had director Zack Snyder had his way, it’s possible John Williams’ original theme for 1978’s Superman would have featured in Man of Steel.

New Theme For A New Superman

Man of Steel storyboard artist Jay Oliva recently revealed that while Zack Snyder was a fan of John Williams’ original Superman score, Warner Bros. didn’t want it in the DC reboot.

Oliva responded to a Twitter thread in which one user recounted an interaction with someone who had “claimed [Zack Snyder] fans not wanting the John Williams theme to be used for [Henry] Cavill was proof that they hated Superman and all he stands for.”

Oliva, a long-time Zack Snyder collaborator, pointed out that both he and Snyder loved Williams’ theme, but the studio didn’t want it in Man of Steel:

If I had heard that then I would have responded that both Zack and I loved that theme but the studio wouldn't let us use it because they wanted something new for this Superman. It turned out to be a good thing because Hanz' theme was perfect.

— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) September 15, 2022

Given how different an interpretation of Superman Man of Steel delivered compared to 1978’s Superman, the new soundtrack probably made more sense than a return to John Williams’ original. However, there can be no doubt that Williams’ theme for the character is timelessly iconic and will likely always be the piece of music most strongly associated with the superhero.

Here is the synopsis for DC’s next film, Black Adam:

Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the ancient gods—and imprisoned just as quickly—Black Adam (Johnson) is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a script written by by Adam Sztykiel and Rory Haines & Sohrab Noshirvani, the DCEU film stars Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari, Quintessa Swindell, Bodhi Sabongui, and Pierce Brosnan.

Black Adam opens in theaters on October 21, 2022. Be sure to continue following Heroic Hollywood for all the latest news regarding DC, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more original video content.

Source: Twitter