By now, we have all undoubtedly watchedMatt Reeves' deliciousThe Batmancamera test, revealingRobert Pattinsonin his deliciously costumed glory, about 9,000 times. We’ve soaked in his jawline, the Bat symbol breast plate’s stylishly frayed qualities, the woozy, hazy red DPGreig Frasercast everything in. It’s all great! But, listen up. Literally. As composerMichael Giacchinoactually scored this camera testwith what’s either going to be some music we’ll hear in the final cut, some experimental demos that will develop into what we’ll hear in the final cut, or something else entirely that still feels well within the world of Gotham City. In other words: I just heard some newTheBatmanmusic from Giacchino. And I… have some feelings.
From a broader read of the piece, I love how noir-ish it all sounds. It’s sparser than your average superhero score, slinking with minimalist moodiness, capturing the smeary, dirty reds of Reeves/Fraser’s palette perfectly. The piano-driven bassline, lightly accented by constant cymbals and kick drum (you rarely hear a kick drum in a superhero score, ya know?), reminds me of some contemporary video game scores – specificallyHeavy RainandLA Noire, both titles that explore classic noir-ish, detective-ish narratives with increasingly contemporary moral complications (which is, I have to imagine, is something like what’s going on inThe Batman). It feels jazzy and hip, yet square and old-fashioned. And as it crescendos near its end – starting with individual feelings trumpets before a fuller, wider brass sound screeches to an unresolved chordal halt – you feel the sense of urgency, of danger, of awe. We visually smash to black, but Giacchino ain’t over: We get a final, electronically-modified piano take on the main motif, crackling out of aural perception, fully non-resolving.
This is all a high-falutin' way of saying: The pieceslaps. It feels soBatman, and so “1950s Hollywood noir with a contemporary edge,” which is so how I wantThe Batmanto feel. But let’s go… evennerdier? The primary chord progression of the piece moves from Bbm to Gb at the very last beat of the measure – a minor i to a brief major VI and back again, in a simple loop. Does it sound familiar? It should – the piece is both in dialogue with two of the major previousBatmanthemes we’ve previously heard on screen,andone of the most famous pieces of film scoring of all time.
Danny Elfman’sBatmantheme, originally composed for theTim Burtonflicks and then repurposed forthe best TV opening credits of all time, is also centered around a heavy-bass note melody like this Giacchino piece –and, the main shape of its melody, especially at it’s peak, is a minor i to major VI. It’s similar both in arrangement shapeandin literal chord progression.Hans ZimmerandJames Newton Howard’s work on theDark Knighttrilogy, likely influenced by the famous Elfman theme, is also centered around a minor i to major VI motif. Plus, Giacchino’s usage of unorthodox arrangements, particularly in its electronic music-flirting outro, echoes the oft-abrasive, industrial/digital textures used by Zimmer and Howard. And finally:Star Wars.The Imperial March. A bass heavy melody, hitting the roots of a minor i to a major VI. Just about identical to Giacchino’s main motif.
Now, I am not saying Giacchino is a ripoff of any of these composers – there are only 12 notes to play with, and a “minor i to major VI” is a very common progression. But whether or not he’s intentionally playing with these familiar scores or aurally echoing previousBatmanfilms, his brief piece manages to conjure up all of these feelings and new ones too. Sounds like a damn promising place to begin for a newBatmanfilm, and a newBatmanscore.
The Batmancomes to theaters June 14, 2025. Check out the camera test (for the 9,001th time) below. For more on the superhero picture, here’s our theory on whoPeter Sarsgaardmight be playing. And here’sanother tease from Reeves.
[EMBED_VIMEO]https://vimeo.com/391277390[/EMBED_VIMEO]
