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Music of the Marvel Cinematic Universe restructuring page

Development[edit]

Marvel Studios[edit]

The Infinity Saga[edit]

The Multiverse Saga[edit]

Marvel Television[edit]

Title U.S. release date Length Composer(s) Label
Daredevil (Original Soundtrack Album) April 27, 2015 (2015-04-27) 41:45 John Paesano Hollywood Records
Marvel Music
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Original Soundtrack Album) September 4, 2015 (2015-09-04) 77:52 Bear McCreary
Marvel's Agent Carter: Season 1 (Original Television Soundtrack) December 11, 2015 (2015-12-11) 65:31 Christopher Lennertz
Jessica Jones (Original Soundtrack) June 3, 2016 (2016-06-03) 59:53 Sean Callery
Daredevil: Season 2 (Original Soundtrack Album) July 15, 2016 (2016-07-15) 50:49 John Paesano
Luke Cage (Original Soundtrack Album) October 7, 2016 (2016-10-07) 95:09 Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Iron Fist (Original Soundtrack) March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17) 62:00 Trevor Morris
The Defenders (Original Soundtrack Album) August 17, 2017 (2017-08-17) 49:15 John Paesano
The Punisher (Original Soundtrack) November 17, 2017 (2017-11-17) 42:52 Tyler Bates
Runaways (Original Score) January 26, 2018 (2018-01-26) 44:57 Siddhartha Khosla
Jessica Jones: Season 2 (Original Soundtrack) March 16, 2018 (2018-03-16) 51:75 Sean Callery
Cloak & Dagger (Original Score) June 8, 2018 (2018-06-08) 41:25 Mark Isham
Luke Cage: Season 2 (Original Soundtrack Album) June 22, 2018 (2018-06-22) 90:21 Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Iron Fist: Season 2 (Original Soundtrack) September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07) 39:12 Robert Lydecker
Daredevil: Season 3 (Original Soundtrack Album) October 19, 2018 (2018-10-19) 75:03 John Paesano
The Punisher: Season 2 (Original Soundtrack) January 18, 2019 (2019-01-18) 51:52 Tyler Bates
Cloak & Dagger: Season 2 (Original Score) May 24, 2019 (2019-05-24) 49:04 Mark Isham
Jessica Jones: Season 3 (Original Soundtrack) July 19, 2019 (2019-07-19) 57:51 Sean Callery

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.[edit]

Bear McCreary, the composer for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., has expanded and contracted his orchestra section throughout the series to reflect the changes each season

For Marvel's first television series set in the MCU, the Whedon-created Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., frequent genre television series composer Bear McCreary signed on to compose the score. "The series centers on the behind-the-scenes people, their heroism and their quirks", McCreary explained, "As such, the music I wrote is heroic and, at times, quirky and offbeat." McCreary spoke at length with Whedon "about the challenge of creating a score that is big enough in its orchestral presence that it feels cinematic and feels at home in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also must capture the intimate human characteristics that define this series. In editorial, it became clear that simply tracking in typical big 'superhero movie' music wasn't going to work. So Joss helped guide me to find a sound that lives a little in both worlds."[1] McCreary worked with several soloists throughout the series, including Oingo Boingo guitarist Steve Bartek;[2] vocalist Raya Yarbrough;[3] composer Jeremy Zuckerman playing the gu zheng for "Girl in the Flower Dress";[4] and cellist Eric Buyers for when "the cellist" character Audrey performs in "The Only Light in the Darkness".[5]

In addition to his orchestral music for the series, McCreary intertwined "these intricate symphonic layers ... with complex synthesizer programming, giving the score a modern edge."[2] He described this programming as "clean", with "warm, round tones, built from simple sine waves with rudimentary reverb, delay and filters added for personality." With the second season, McCreary permanently expanded the brass section and "thinned out" the woodwinds section to give the orchestra "more weight in the lower frequencies", matching the darker look and tone of the season. He also cut back on his use of electric guitar, which was often used for Skye before she became an official agent; McCreary felt that "a common instrument that stood out from the epic orchestral texture associated with our true S.H.I.E.L.D. agents" had felt more natural for the then "lovable hacker, a relatable outsider from our world". He also evolved his synthesizer use, making them "mangled under heavy distortion, mutilated beneath waves of noise".[6] After the introduction of the Inhumans, McCreary expanded the sound of the score "in a big way" for the third season, adding larger percussion, and many more trombones than previously, which required the recording space to be reconfigured.[7] For "Maveth", McCreary used a 90-piece orchestra rather than the series' typical 50 or 70 players.[8]

McCreary saw his main theme for the series, which also represents the central team of agents, as primarily being a theme for Phil Coulson.[2][9] McCreary noted that "in one of the movies that would be inappropriate. You wouldn't do that for Coulson when Thor or Captain America are in the same story. But here Coulson is the hero ... It's all about him."[9] McCreary initially wrote the theme in F major, "giving it a very triumphant sound", with one instance in the pilot diminishing it to F minor. Executive producer Jed Whedon "astutely pointed out that the minor version was more satisfying than the major version", and so McCreary "tweaked" the theme permanently into F minor.[2] ABC and Marvel allowed McCreary to use a full symphonic orchestra for every episode, and so there is "a full section of brass that's pounding out his theme when he comes out in his heroic moments." McCreary had to work harder than usual to make the theme heard, given that the show does not have a traditional title sequence.[9] To accompany the main theme, McCreary wrote an ostinato "that doesn't draw as much attention to itself as a full-blown melody. I use this catchy little riff to build up steam before sweeping statements of the Main Theme."[2]

Mike Peterson's theme is most commonly performed on a solo electric guitar—McCreary felt that "the image of a single guitar player trying to hold his own against a 90-piece orchestra is a nice metaphor for how Mike must feel"—which is "consumed by distorted synthesizers and low brass" whenever the darker or more unstable sides of the character's superpowers are shown. McCreary also introduced a theme for the mysterious Centipede group in the pilot. "To imply the centipede-nature of the theme," McCreary "used ten notes, divided into two groups of 5. Played on delicate bells and de-tuned piano, the percussive nature of the notes evokes two rows of tiny insect feet crawling across a string."[2] This theme also comes to represent the group's leader, the Clairvoyant.[10] The emotional bond between the central characters is represented by "The Agents" theme, a much more intimate and accessible idea than the main theme. McCreary described the theme as unfolding "essentially like a pop-song, with a simple A-B-A-A structure".[11] The Skye theme is most clearly heard in emotional moments dealing with that character's backstory, but also appears in many other variations, including brief, romantic statements to highlight her early relationship with Grant Ward.[12] Fitz and Simmons' theme is " less melodic than the other themes, and more motivic. It's essentially an ostinato that rolls over itself again and again, evolving into subtly different variations with each turn through the pattern. This musically emulates their speaking pattern, where they are constantly stumbling over one another and saying the same thing in slightly different ways."[13] "The Hub" introduces the audience (and Skye) to "Big S.H.I.E.L.D.", as opposed to Coulson's small team, which McCreary gave its own, more militaristic theme.[14] The theme for John Garrett has two parts, an ostinato and a melody, and "represents his adventurous personality, designed to be fun, bouncy and as far away from ominous as possible".[10]

The episode "Turn, Turn, Turn" reveals to the series' characters that Hydra has infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. For much of the episode, they believe that Agent Victoria Hand, who was introduced in "The Hub", is a Hydra agent, and so the Big S.H.I.E.L.D. theme functions as the series' Hydra theme. Once John Garrett is revealed to be the traitor, and the Clairvoyant, the Centipede became the new Hydra theme, though McCreary continued to use his Garrett theme rather than outright replace it with the Hydra theme as Bill Paxton's "performance after being revealed as the Clairvoyant is even more fun and energetic. So, his theme still fits him perfectly, it just shows us a different side of his personality."[13] With the second season came new Hydra characters, and their new MacGuffin, the Obelisk, for which McCreary wanted to use a Hydra theme. Feeling that his previous themes had become too complicated during the first season, and were too tied to that season's narrative, McCreary composed a new Hydra theme, which "in true bad-guy-theme fashion ... is constructed from distantly related minor chords, and contains lots of close intervals."[6]

McCreary created his own theme for the Tesseract, "an ominous melodic line that shifts between two distantly related minor chords",[11] and for Asgard, "like an old fanfare, a melody that capture[s] the majesty of Asgardian nobility" though it is generally performed as a "smaller version" since the series is still "rooted in reality".[15] However, when Peggy Carter makes guest appearances on the series through flashbacks, McCreary quotes Christopher Lennertz's Agent Carter theme. McCreary said on this, "I was excited for the opportunity to incorporate his music into my S.H.I.E.L.D. score, because it further cements the Marvel [Cinematic] Universe together as a coherent whole ... Chris was thrilled and sent me his scores for reference."[6]

Agent Carter[edit]

In June 2014, after a television series extension of the One-Shot Agent Carter was ordered by ABC, the short's composer Christopher Lennertz talked about the possibility of him being involved with the series saying Louis D'Esposito, the One-Shot director also involved with the series, wanted Lennertz involved,[16] before officially signing on to compose for the series that September.[17] On his music for the series, Lennertz said, "I get to mix a lot of things that don't often get to go together in terms of period, music, jazz, trumpet, mixed with orchestra, mixed with electronics and brushes on a drum set and things." He researched "what was going on between '46 and 1950 and what it was that would be part of that era ... I knew Count Basie. I knew Glenn Miller, all those things were happening at the time, but then we also figured out that it was sort of changing from big band to smaller jazz ensembles." This led to Lennertz focusing a lot on trumpets for Peggy Carter's sound, "which makes a lot of sense because it's also very sneaky, and it lends itself to espionage and that kind of thing".[18] Lennertz introduced a folk choral piece performed by a Russian men's choir during "The Iron Ceiling".[19]

Daredevil[edit]

John Paesano sought out the composer role for the first Marvel-Netflix series, Daredevil, after he had previously worked with showrunner Steven S. DeKnight on a proof of concept. After successfully auditioning for the job, Paesano joined the series several weeks into post-production, and had to provide around 25–30 minutes of music per episode. He averaged "around an episode every four or five days". DeKnight "had a very clear vision of what he wanted. He wanted to really keep the show grounded and he wanted to make it feel real and not so fantastical like some of the other Marvel properties were. He wanted music you could feel and not necessarily hear. We cut the score to be minimalistic." Once Daredevil gets his superhero costume at the end of the first season, "the music starts to change color and we start to get more in to that Marvel universe."[20] Due to his schedule and the style of the score, Paesano ultimately used mostly electronic sounds and music, but did try to add acoustic instruments, such as cellos, where possible to have more of a hybrid sound, often using these in non-traditional ways.[21] Instead of more traditional percussion, Paesano used a low pulse throughout the series, emulating a heartbeat since the titular character often listens to people's heartbeats with his heightened senses.[20] Paesano took inspiration from James Newton Howard's Michael Clayton score for the series' lawyer-oriented scenes.[22]

On returning for the series' second season, with new showrunners Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez (who had worked with DeKnight on the first season), Paesano felt that the two "really were true to what we were trying to do" with the first season, but the score still changed to reflect the new elements of season two "that we had to acknowledge. Obviously we have two characters being introduced, we have the Punisher and Elektra, and they both have their own backstories, their own interactions with Matt Murdock, so there are way more branches in this season than there were last season ... we just had to broaden the score to handle some of these different stories." Paesano continued, "even though there are these new stories, it's still in the same Hell's Kitchen atmosphere that we're creating. So there's definitely differences, but it's not like we all of the sudden went into John Williams territory ... it's definitely a very grounded show but it definitely jumps up a couple levels." Paesano worked closely with the series' sound design team, spotting episodes with them to coordinate where "we were going to hit what" and "maintain that definable aspect of New York" and its sound.[23]

For his audition, Paesano created a demo which included a simple piano motif. Though this material would usually not be used in the final score, in this instance Paesano took the motif and converted it into a main theme for the series, which becomes the theme for Daredevil in the show.[20] The final theme was co-composed by Braden Kimball.[24] The first episode ends with a montage that the editors originally temped with a song, but DeKnight wanted to use original music instead. Paesano subsequently wrote a more "songish" version of the main theme for the sequence, with a basic verse-chorus-verse structure, and instrumentation such as guitars and a drum kit to retain the feel and energy of the originally chosen song.[21] Besides the main theme, Paesano tended to focus more on "a feel and a tone and a sound" rather than Star Wars-style motifs and "heavy, thematic, melodic elements".[25] The approach for villain Wilson Fisk was to juxtapose "this big bullish threatening character" with "light and sparse and elegant" classical music. For when his "evil twisted side" shows through, Paesano "took classical pieces of music and I twisted them up and played them backwards or redid some of the harmony or put them through distortion and created a classical vibe but really mangled and twisted".[26] For Stick, Paesano used a cello bow on the neck of the cello, a technique called col legno, to replicate the sound of the blind man's cane.[21] Paesano described his "themes" for Punisher and Elektra in the second season as "angry" and "mystical" sounding, respectively.[25]

Jessica Jones[edit]

At a San Diego Comic-Con panel in 2015, Sean Callery revealed that he would be composing the score for Jessica Jones.[27] The series' showrunner, Melissa Rosenberg, asked for Callery based on his work for Homeland, which she felt sounded like it could serve Jessica Jones well. However, Callery's music for the latter ultimately became "something so completely and wonderfully different" once he started exploring the tone and "color" of Jessica Jones. Callery found that the more intimate and organic his music, the more it "clicked with the series".[28] To match the series' psychological thriller and neo-noir tone, Callery used a "smaller ensemble, it's almost like a jazz score, but there's some very weird, gooey sound design elements that kind of come in". Callery was influenced by the style and works of Bill Evans for the score. Rosenberg often asked Callery to have the music "do less",[29] such as when he scored a fight sequence as a big, percussive superhero scene, and Rosenberg felt that even then the series should feel intimate; she suggested Callery just use a regular drum kit for the fights instead.[28] Callery's assistant Jamie Forsyth also contributed to the music for the series.[28][30]

Callery did not begin composing the series' main theme until after reading two or three scripts, and did not see the opening graphics until after the second episode, at which point he had "a framework for a theme that [he] hoped would work". At this time, Callery said he started "fooling around" with ideas for the theme, and eventually settled on one that he felt had a "sneaky and fun" quality, adding, Jessica Jones "has dry humor, a real edge to her. But there was something to this character that had a little whisker of playfulness in there, like a cat or something." After creating the theme, Callery expanded it, adding a "fun" rhythmic quality, and eventually fully orchestrating it to include a piano, which he played himself, as well as instruments such as the acoustic bass, and additional sound design. Regarding the electric guitar's entrance, Callery pointed out that it got "bigger there because as I looked at the graphics, the lights got a little more strobe-y. So that's when I decided the electric guitar might be a kind of neat add there so that the whole piece will arc a little more."[31]

Jessica Jones has several personal themes that Callery "wove throughout the series", which he found to be most effective when played on solo instruments—"Whether they were guitar or solo piano, we always found that when the textures and the orchestration were minimal, soloistic, and expressive it just hit the right tone." One theme for the character represents "a light inside of her that is untouched by the cruelties that have befallen her. I stopped short of saying that it's a happy theme, but it's about her untouched pure self that she can trust in and is truly hers; it's one of compassion and of caring." Another is more inline with her outward appearance and personality, which Callery described as tough and resilient, and "something that she totally owns". For the villainous Kilgrave, who is not seen in some of the series' early episodes, Callery "had to suggest his presence without actually seeing him. So initially he had a moody tone to him, which eventually started morphing into a darker theme" as the character physically appears and begins to play a larger role in the series.[32]

Luke Cage[edit]

In April 2016, showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker revealed that Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad were composing the music for Luke Cage, with "a '90s hip-hop vibe".[33] Coker had contacted Younge and Muhammad separately, asking if they would like to work together on the series, not knowing that the pair were already working together on an album.[34] Younge and Muhammad composed the score as if they were creating 13 albums, one for each episode,[35] with the music inspired by Wu-Tang Clan, Ennio Morricone, and Muhammad's group A Tribe Called Quest.[36] Muhammad felt that the music was "about getting that hip-hop foundation and making sure those drums were as big as day",[37] while Younge said, "we wanted to make something great. Not just for black people or minorities, just something great that just happens to be based on our culture."[36] The duo composed around twenty minutes of music for each episode, composing the entire season's score in nine months.[34]

Younge and Muhammad looked at all of the different sounds of Harlem, including hip-hop, jazz, blues, and psychedelic rock, to give each character "their own theme and their own sound" that was all still representative of the culture. For Luke Cage specifically, Coker noted that he is a character who understands the roots of the modern culture, and understands where modern Harlem and hip-hop sensibilities originated, so Younge and Muhammad looked to the beginnings of modern hip-hop for his sound.[38] For Cage's more dramatic or emotional moments, vocalist Loren Oden was used as "kind of like [Cage's] inner voice". For the character of Willis Stryker, opera singer Brooke deRosa, whom Younge had often worked with before, was used. To reflect the character Cottonmouth's status in the series as a musician who primarily plays the Fender Rhodes, the composers "pretty much exclusively use Fender Rhodes keyboards for him. That is who he is." The most difficult episode for the composers was the fourth, which features flashbacks to Cage's time in prison. They felt that the episode's temp music was "all over the place, and it didn't feel cohesive", and were unsure whether to illustrate the idea of an incarcerated black man using "old slave-blues-type" music, to go with a "Bernard HerrmannAlfred Hitchcock-type scary vibe", or to stick with "straight hip-hop, '90s stuff". Younge offered that there was "some intense thinking, but it wasn't necessarily difficult to execute once we figured it out."[39]

Iron Fist[edit]

Trevor Morris was revealed to be composing the music for the first season of Iron Fist in late October 2016.[40] The producers of the series wanted a "modern" sounding score, so Morris focused on synthesizer sounds and made a rule that traditional orchestral instruments, such as strings and horns, would not be used for the series. He said that by "taking those heavy-hitters off the table, it leaves you to find a unique way to solve these problems. That sound is also very fashionable right now, which I think is great." Some of the synthesizer sounds were intended to acknowledge the title character's childhood iPod on which he listens to music from the 1990s. In terms of Asian influences on the score, Morris attempted to use several instruments to represent Asian culture, particularly for scenes set in a dojo or featuring Kung Fu, but "the producers didn't like it. They thought it was too traditional." He ultimately used some Japanese flutes throughout the show, but after they were "heavily affected" digitally.[41] Robert Lydecker replaced Morris as composer for the second season.[42]

The Defenders[edit]

In February 2017, Paesano was announced as returning to compose for the miniseries The Defenders.[43] In February 2017, John Paesano was announced as the composer for the miniseries, after previously composing for the first two seasons of Daredevil.[44] Paesano felt "there was more license to push the envelope and lean a bit more into the orchestral colors" of each character since they were "dealing with outright superheroes that [their] audience is familiar with". His score, which was a hybrid of synthesizers and a 30-piece orchestra, borrows the "color" of each character's themes from their individual series "to remind viewers of their individual personalities".[45] The music of Johannes Brahms is used throughout the miniseries, first in the second episode where Alexandra is shown listening to a performance of his First String Quartet by the Aeolus Quartet. The scene establishes Alexandra to be "a Brahms aficionado". The composer's First Symphony is then heard as the leaders of the Hand prepare to attack the Defenders in the miniseries' fifth episode. Finally, Alexandra listens to a defective recording of Brahms' Tragic Overture.[46]

Inhumans[edit]

At the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con, Loeb announced Sean Callery as the composer for Inhumans.[47] At the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con, Loeb announced Sean Callery as the composer for Inhumans, after he previously composed the score for Marvel's Jessica Jones.[48] Callery recorded his score for Inhumans with a 68-piece orchestra, the largest he had ever worked with for television. He called his score "the most thematic I've been with any show I've worked on. At its core, it's about a royal family, so there are some grand themes for the kingdom and the family. Callery wrote an "adventurous" main theme for the series that was featured in the IMAX release, with a "very, very abridged version" used in the television episodes. Callery tried to use the show's music to differentiate between scenes set on Earth and those on the Moon, and took four or five days to compose the music for each episode.

The Punisher[edit]

In April 2017, Tyler Bates was announced as the composer for The Punisher.[49]

Runaways[edit]

In May 2017, Siddhartha Khosla was hired to compose the music for Runaways. In May 2017, Siddhartha Khosla was hired to compose the music for the series. Khosla said that, due to his history as a songwriter, his scoring process involves "working on these song-stories and weaving them through different episodes". He described the Runaways score as being "completely synthesized", utilizing analog synthesizers from the 1980s, specifically the Roland Juno-60 and Oberheim Electronics' synths. Khosla compared the "alternative feel" of his score to Depeche Mode, adding "there is an element of rebellion, so sonically going for something that is a little bit outside the box, non-traditional, I felt was an appropriate approach. I feel like I'm making art on this show." Alex Patsavas serves as music supervisor, having done so on all of Schwartz and Savage's previous series. On January 12, 2018, a soundtrack from the first season consisting of 12 licensed tracks plus two by Khosla, was released digitally.

Cloak & Dagger[edit]

Mark Isham announced in May 2017 that he would compose the music for Cloak & Dagger.[50]

Reception[edit]

In October 2014, John Coggin looked back on the music of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far for International Policy Digest. He felt that the music was a major failing of the shared universe, especially in comparison to other major franchises such as Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings, because of a lack of "strong fanfares" for the films' heroes and a lack of continuity between the different scores. He felt that Patrick Doyle's Thor was the best in terms of "thematic strength and unity", while other films did not develop their own musical themes in a memorable way, and found it "remarkable" that Brian Tyler completely discarded all of Doyle's themes. Coggin ended his piece by noting that the MCU was "still young", and "in time, Marvel can and should develop bolder themes for its individual heroes. It should establish some thematic continuity between films."[51] Emmet Asher-Perrin, writing for Tor.com, discussed the issue of musical continuity further. She pointed out how continuity between films was such an important aspect of the MCU for Marvel, and therefore found it confusing that the "same consistency wasn't applied to their soundtracks". Raising numerous examples of other franchises recalling thematic material to great effect, Asher-Perrin opined that the lack of continuity in the scores was not only "off-putting", but a missed opportunity for Marvel and the cohesiveness of the franchise.[52]


Christian Clemmenson of Filmtracks.com agreed that the scores for the Marvel films "always struggled to form any kind of cohesive identity". He felt that Silvestri had been the most successful composer at creating memorable themes, and saw Tyler's work for Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World as strong in establishing an appropriate tone for the franchise by "combining the masculinity of the Hans Zimmer blockbuster expectations from the studio with the Jerry Goldsmith rhythmic flair that actually (still) works".[53] Clemmenson did criticize Tyler's work on The Dark World for his "inexplicable" replacing of Doyle's themes with his own "generic" ones,[55] and subsequently praised the composer's efforts on Avengers: Age of Ultron to maintain the sound that he previously established while reusing Silvestri's previous themes as well as his own. He also highlighted the way that Danny Elfman adapted and evolved Silvestri's Avengers theme for that film, "rather than simply arranging it for regurgitation". Despite this praise, Clemmenson ultimately only called the Age of Ultron score "functional", and felt that the way the music was edited and used in the film was "an absolute mess", an issue he saw with many of the MCU scores.[53]

At Flickering Myth, Simon Columb responded to a description of Tyler's scores for Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World as "alright" with an opinion piece titled "The Forgettable Soundtrack to Marvel's Movies". He argued that film music is such a "core element" that the scores deserve more criticism than a dismissive "alright"; he felt that all MCU scores were "consistently below par ... the soundtracks have always felt unclear, confused and inconsistent." He also touched on the lack of continuity, lamenting the missed opportunity to "use the themes and music to carve out a consistent harmonic atmosphere".[56] /Film's Jacob Hall focused on the quality of the MCU's music, describing it as "the musical equivalent of vanilla pudding. No single MCU movie features identifiable music and that's a shame." Hall hoped that the hiring of Michael Giacchino, whom he called "one of the most talented and celebrated modern composers of music for film and television", and the rehiring of Silvestri, who he felt had composed the only memorable and recognizable theme with his "Captain America March", during Marvel's Phase Three slate of films would change this trend, particularly hoping that Giacchino could "bring some much-needed magic to the MCU".[54][57]

In September 2016, the YouTube channel Every Frame a Painting, which analyzes films and the filmmaking process, posted a video essay discussing the music of the MCU. The video also highlights the lack of memorability for general audience members compared to franchises such as Star Wars and James Bond, and proposes several reasons for why this is: the tendency for the music to be background noise, or to be "hidden" behind other sounds such as voiceovers; how it closely reflects the events on screen, and so does not stand out or surprise the audience; and how it is often similar to other music, which the video blames on the temp process and filmmakers editing the film to the temp music before bringing in the composer, or asking composers to imitate the temp tracks. Saying that the music is not bad, just "bland and inoffensive", the video states that Marvel could improve their music by simply taking more risks with it, like putting more emphasis on the music without any other sound effects, or mismatching it with the visuals—for example, playing "emotional" music during an otherwise "humorous" scene to give more impact to the underlying feelings of the characters rather than their surface actions.[58]

Other[edit]

Marvel Studios fanfares[edit]

After Marvel Entertainment was bought by the Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios became its "own entity", without other companies working with them as distribution companies, the studio commissioned a new production logo for their films and television series starting with Thor: The Dark World, the first film to feature solely the Marvel logo. Feige explained that "We didn't want to re-invent the wheel [from the previous logo], but we wanted it to feel bigger, to feel more substantial, [and] like all great studio logos, you need a fanfare, and we'd never had that before." Therefore, Marvel commissioned Brian Tyler, who had just scored Iron Man 3 and The Dark World for them, to compose a new "spectacular" fanfare to accompany the logo.[59]

When approaching the fanfare, Tyler looked not just at the films, but "Marvel as a whole...going all the way back from The Human Torch through" the comics.[60] Because "there was very little time for the listener or the viewer to really hone in on what's there musically", Tyler "needed something that could be played a little bit more simply as a melody. Then all the orchestration—you know, I wrote these string lines that are actually, have kind of a fantastical, more complex nature to it. That just supports a melody that is more of a whistler." Marvel agreed with this approach and worked with Tyler to hone the orchestration; "as the graphics were being done we really wanted to hit little moments with some sparkly shimmer and get it more specific." The main melody remained unchanged from Tyler's initial composition.[61]

External videos
video icon Marvel Studios Logo Animation – Thor: Love and Thunder Edition presents the version of the Marvel Studios fanfare played in Thor: Love and Thunder, YouTube video from Perception's channel

In July 2016, Marvel introduced a new logo focusing on the film studio and featuring imagery from the MCU, rather than Marvel in general and its history in comic books. To accompany the new logo, first seen on Doctor Strange, Michael Giacchino, the composer for Doctor Strange, composed a new Marvel Studios fanfare.[62] For Spider-Man: Homecoming, the fanfare introduced with Doctor Strange was replaced by "Theme from Spider-Man (Original Television Series)", Giacchino's version of the theme from the 1967 cartoon series.[63] A rock version of the fanfare was played in the opening of Thor: Love and Thunder,[64] while a horror version was played in the opening of Werewolf by Night.[65] Giacchino also composed the fanfare for the Marvel Studios Special Presentations.[66]

Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe[edit]

Tyler composed for Marvel Studios once again in March 2014, by providing the music for the television special Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe.[67]

A Mini Marvel[edit]

In February 2016, a commercial for Coca-Cola mini cans starring Ant-Man and the Hulk aired during Super Bowl 50. It was created through a partnership with Marvel, and directed by the Russo brothers.[68][69] The ad was scored by Ant-Man composer Christophe Beck and Jeff Morrow, who had contributed additional material to Ant-Man.[70][71]

Disney Parks[edit]

The music for the Avengers Campus themed area at Disney California Adventure was composed by John Paesano, who referenced themes from the Avengers, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, Captain Marvel, and Black Panther films. A single entitled "Welcome Recruits" was digitally released by Hollywood Records and Marvel Music on April 22, 2022.[72]

The original cast album for Rogers: The Musical, with music by Christopher Lennertz, Jordan Peterson, and Alex Karukas, was released by Walt Disney Records on September 15, 2023.[73]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference McCreary was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference McCreary101 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference McCreary111 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference McCreary105 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference McCreary119 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference McCreary201 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference McCreary301 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference McCreary310 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference McCrearyDoG was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference McCreary116 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference McCreary102 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference McCreary103 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference McCreary106 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference McCreary107 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference McCreary108 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference LennertzTV1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference LennertzTV2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference StarSpangledManAC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference LennertzTV3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference PaesanoFOW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference PaesanoDoG was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference PaesanoPaste was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference PaesanoCollider was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference DDSoundtrack was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference PaesanoGoD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference PaesanoSCNS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference CalleryJJ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference CalleryGold was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference CalleryPremiere was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference JJSoundtrack was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference CalleryVariety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ Cite error: The named reference CallerySoundtrax was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. ^ Cite error: The named reference CokerApril2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  34. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference LCSpin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  35. ^ Cite error: The named reference StreetLevelMusicTVGuide was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  36. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference StreetLevelMusic/Film was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  37. ^ Cite error: The named reference StreetLevelMusicNerdist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  38. ^ Cite error: The named reference LCUrbanDaily was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  39. ^ Cite error: The named reference LCVulture was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  40. ^ Cite error: The named reference Morris was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  41. ^ Cite error: The named reference MorrisAD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  42. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lydecker was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  43. ^ Cite error: The named reference PaesanoTD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  44. ^ Cite error: The named reference Paesano was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  45. ^ Cite error: The named reference VarietyMusicAug2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  46. ^ Cite error: The named reference Aeolus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  47. ^ Cite error: The named reference CalleryInhumans was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  48. ^ Cite error: The named reference Callery was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  49. ^ Cite error: The named reference BatesPunisher was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  50. ^ Cite error: The named reference Isham was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  51. ^ Cite error: The named reference CogginReview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  52. ^ Cite error: The named reference AsherPerrinReview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  53. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference FilmtracksAoU was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  54. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference SlashSilvestri was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  55. ^ Cite error: The named reference FilmtracksTDW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  56. ^ Cite error: The named reference ColumbReview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  57. ^ Cite error: The named reference SlashGiacchino was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  58. ^ Cite error: The named reference MSUessay was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  59. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fanfare was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  60. ^ Cite error: The named reference TylerFanfare was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  61. ^ Cite error: The named reference TylerAoUIconic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  62. ^ Cite error: The named reference NewFanfare was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  63. ^ Cite error: The named reference HomecomingIntro was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  64. ^ Cite error: The named reference LaTFanfare was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  65. ^ Cite error: The named reference WWBNSoundtrack was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  66. ^ Cite error: The named reference SpecialPresentationFanfare was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  67. ^ Cite error: The named reference AgeofUltron was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  68. ^ Cite error: The named reference SuperBowl50Coke was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  69. ^ Cite error: The named reference SuperBowl50Coke2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  70. ^ Cite error: The named reference BeckFMM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  71. ^ Cite error: The named reference CokeBeck was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  72. ^ Cite error: The named reference AvengersCampus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  73. ^ Cite error: The named reference RogersTheMusical was invoked but never defined (see the help page).