Junkie XL

The announcement that Danny Elfman will replace Junkie XL as the composer of Justice League is one of the first concrete signs of the shift in direction following the departure of Zack Snyder and his replacement by Joss Whedon. Frankly, we were excited by the news. Elfman’s a great composer, with plenty of experience writing music for superhero movies; he composed the music for Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, Ang Lee’s Hulk, and Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

As of late, the DC Extended Universe has had more personnel turnover than a small-town strip joint. Their solo project The Flash lost its director and has yet to wrangle a replacement, the future of Batman turned into one endless, embarrassing game of musical chairs, and now there’s been an unexpected change-up behind the scenes of Justice League. With the November 17 release date a brief five months out, it’s nothing too seismically game-changing, but DC’s upcoming crossover is going to sound a bit different than anticipated.

As far back as I can remember, I’ve been a sucker for movies where soldiers fight monsters. Aliens. Predator. Starship Troopers. Dog Soldiers. Heck, even mediocre films like Battle: Los Angeles are the cinematic equivalent of catnip to me. Take a group of hardened soldiers, throw them into a paranormal environment, and sit back and enjoy as the bullets start flying and everything falls apart. It’s like the best of war movies and the best of monster movies, all swirled together in one high-octane bundle of crazy.

And another one bites the dust. Following the surprising departure of director Tim Miller last week, the Deadpool sequel has lost another creative component, as composer Junkie XL has exited the project. In a personal statement on his Facebook page, the composer says he decided to leave the sequel as a show of solidarity for Miller, who clashed with star Ryan Reynolds over the creative direction of Deadpool 2.

In just one week we’ll finally get to see who will win in the fight between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel, when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters. But you don’t have to wait that long to get a new look at Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, which you can gaze upon while you listen to Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL’s complete score for Zack Snyder’s DC superhero epic.

Over the years, Batman has had some highly iconic themes. From the opening song of the classic 1960s ABC series to Danny Elfman’s instantly recognizable theme from the Tim Burton films, the many Batman adaptations have always included memorable music. With Batman vs. Superman fast approaching, we’re about to get a new addition from composer Junkie XL, who partnered with composer Hans Zimmer for the film’s score. Today, you can listen to the new Batman theme from Batman vs. Superman and see how it stacks up against some of the old classics.

2015 was a banner year for composers with make-believe names. A man referring to himself as “T-Bone” composed the gorgeous, delicate score for Todd Haynes’ Carol and earned an Oscar nomination, while the mysterious musician known as Disasterpeace (or to his mother, Rich Vreeland) made splash with his chilling, aggressive It Follows soundtrack...