The Music of ‘The Batman’: How Michael Giacchino Used Dread and Darkness to Score the Box Office Smash

variety.com:

Jon Burlingame editorMichael Giacchino’s dark symphony for “The Batman” — from his brooding theme for Bruce Wayne to children’s choir for the Riddler and noirish stylings for Catwoman — is the year’s most talked-about score and among his most ambitious yet.When Warner’s WaterTower label released a “Batman” track in late January, it racked up an astounding 2.3 million views on YouTube — the highest global streaming engagement the label had ever seen for pre-release from a score album.

And interest has only grown in the weeks since the subsequent teasings of more Giacchino music and Friday’s release of the movie.“Michael brought soul, he brought dread, he brought all of the emotional and atmospheric undercurrents that a movie like this requires,” director Matt Reeves tells Variety. “You almost can’t articulate what he brings — you can just feel it, how he expresses himself through music, how it relates to story.” This is their fifth film together (including two “Planet of the Apes” movies, “Let Me In” and “Cloverfield”).

Reeves brought the composer on board in 2019, even before he cast Robert Pattinson as Gotham City’s caped crusader. “The idea of doing that character, that world, is something I knew would resonate with him, just as when we were doing the ‘Apes’ films together, because we were both incredible fans from childhood.”The Oscar and Emmy winner (“Up,” “Lost”) began writing and recording music based on script pages and conversations with Reeves. “And then I played it for the actors,” Reeves reports. “I played it on set.

Rob was telling me it was one of the important tools in terms of getting into the tone of the character emotionally.”Giacchino’s score is the symphonic equivalent of Reeves’ film, suggesting the.