After being hit with a slew of successors over the past few years, it's pretty clear that as an audience, nostalgia is our kryptonite. Then again, the return of the franchise could silence naysayers the second they hear a few notes from a familiar score that will make us sit in our seats and our chests swell involuntarily. That's what many fans no doubt felt when checking out the gorgeous new poster for James Gunn's Superman (A Movie That Should Really Work)they caught the gentle breeze of John Williams' unmistakable theme to 1978's Superman: The Movie. Superman is (to our knowledge) not a legacy, but it absolutely wouldn't matter if it still used Williams' music.

Given the amount of fiery emojis and praise heaped upon the one-sheet reveal, people are happily expressing their joy that the beloved composer's work is being re-applied to this brand new iteration of DC's poster boy. However, other people were not so pleased. During X, one user wrote"The fact that they're using John Williams' theme from the Christopher Reeves movies has already confirmed to me that this movie will be dead on arrival." Others expressed hope the theme is reused purely for the trailer; how uploaded by another user“Can we pull the John Williams Superman theme.

Why, though? What unwritten rule is there that says a reboot of a famous hero must come with a brand new theme song? Sure, it might send us on a musical trip down memory lane, but that's a risk franchises shouldn't be afraid to take. Superman shouldn't be getting brand new music every time a new actor plays him, especially when a certain secret agent with a license to kill hasn't changed his theme since 1962.

Just as a few trumpet blasts from John Williams' Superman: The Movie theme song instantly send chills, hearing the brass section blast a bit of John Barry and Monty Norman's iconic James Bond theme. In a musical microcosm, a property that reuses the same theme song is something that fans hate to see. It just makes it all the more impressive that the James Bond franchise has gotten away with doing it for over 60 years.

Before Daniel Craig's stint as the secret agent, the connections between each Bond film were very tenuous. James Bond himself was played by different actorsas well as all Q, Ms and Moneypenny. Even Blofeld, Bond's long-time nemesis in the franchise, has been played by a variety of actors ranging from Donald Plains to Telly Savalas, and yet audiences have never been shaken (or disturbed) by hearing the classic Bond theme tune whenever James signs up. If the cult member of His Majesty's Secret Service gets a pass, then there's no reason the Last Son of Krypton shouldn't either.

Factoring in the composer working on Gunn's Superman, it's entirely possible that Williams' classic score will, in fact, be incorporated into the film. Gunn announced Earlier this year, his co-star The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," John Murphy will be handling the music for The Man of Tomorrow in his film. As a composer who doesn't play by the rules, Murphy may very well integrate some of Williams' work in any way he sees fit. This would also set a precedent for other franchise reboots to follow suit and make this kind of approach more common in the future.

Listen. Tom Holland's wall mounted a larger version of the 60's Spider-Man cartoon theme. Ms. Marvel set the stage for the X-Men's debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when he used the '90s theme from X-Men: The Animated Series. They weren't the first to do such a thing and they certainly won't be the last, simply because all those theme songs absolutely rock. In fact, I'd bet my broom that whenever Max's Harry Potter series comes out, Williams' work from the Harry Potter films will be incorporated to add some extra magic to that reboot as well. That's not to say that new composers shouldn't dare to add their own contribution to whatever iteration of the franchise they help bring to life, but just as some characters and their worlds are being revisited, so should the music that first place helped start the screen property journey.

As for Superman, if nothing else, the use of Williams' score, along with a gorgeous color scheme that hearkens back to Richard Donner's original poster for the film, should get fans thinking that Gunn has a winner on his hands. here - one that keeps the memory of one of the best and most beloved iterations of the Man of Steel close to its chest. Just like Kal-El himself, Williams' Superman theme is invulnerable, so don't bother fixing what was never broken.

Superman opens in theaters on July 11, 2025.