Interesting you mention Powell, as he does prove a composer has little choice if the director wants something.
Powell’s score for Knight and Day - beautiful, sweeping, orchestra
Powell’s score on Bourne - tones designed to have no musical sound (shame, given the mysterious flute noise that opens all 3, before being dropped)
I must say (as a long time David Lynch devotee) i’m a fan of Zimmer contribution to score and sound design conjoining in mainstream cinema. Atmosphere is everything in film and as much as i love the Scorsese/Tarantino effect of marrying Music and image and the melodies of Barry and Williams, for me the highest art in cinema is when a ‘soundscape’ brings an onscreen environment to life by feeling part of it. Informing, rather than imposing the artist’s idea’s.
Sure this isn’t high art, it’s James Bond, but Zimmer proved to me on The Dark Knight that it’s possible to create a highly atmospheric soundscape that’s at the same time full of thematic nods. For me a stand out part of TDK’s score is the build up to Ariel kidnap from the skyscraper in Hong Kong. I find that an exciting prospect for Bond, especially one directed by CJF.
Just want to make a general comment…with pretty much everyone (except Serra, who to be fair still reverted to the house style at moments) all these fellas know what they’re getting into - an established franchise that does have a certain style. And I think it would be fair to say that this generation would probably all admit that their predecessors (and Barry was a big player in that 60s-70s period) were of great “influence.” So I have no doubt they all want to put their spin on it, without completely blowing it up.
As SAF (and a couple of others too, I think) said, I am curious as to how Zimmer will influence the “sound” of the film, beyond the score itself. I listened to the Dunkirk soundtrack again (to be fair, after listening to the Tarentino and co. podcast about that film at The Ringer) and I’m curious as to how some of those “noise, score, sound fx” touches might play in a Bond-film.
Do I think Zimmer will lay down a soundtrack that I’ll instantly go “oooh, that’s one of the best!”? I have no idea; what I am sure of is that it won’t be anything that jars.
I always thought he used leitmotif, not heavy 
.
Quite.
I mostly didn’t want to assume knowledge of what that composing technique is called
Surprising, I find his work on “Bourne” infused by many themes. But my favorite score of his is “Solo”, using Williams´ themes in a way that makes me believe Powell could use Barry´s themes for a Bond film score accordingly well.
I for one am very happy. It was bout time Zimmer got to work on Bond! It’s just too bad he’s left with just a few months before the release date. Let’s hope he’ll have time to come up with something great.
I can understand he’s not Barry, as has been pointed out. But, honestly, only Barry was Barry, and a new composer with his own personnal touch was badly needed. Not that I disliked the previous themes, they did get the job done, but they were on the whole uninspired. If Zimmer manages to make the most of his time and delivers his best, we could get a thrilling overall vibe. His work on The Dark Knight, for instance, or even on Tron Legacy, was superb. It would be a whole new atmosphere for Bond, and if done properly it could send us to another sound dimension and renew our experience of Bond.
So let’s hope he’ll give it his best shot and offer us a great atmosphere, and not deliver a ready-made, catch-all Hollywood formula…
Tron Legacy was composed by Daft Punk.
Yes, but in collaboration with Zimmer. And clearly, when you listen to some tracks, it sounds like it was 90% Zimmer with 10% Daft Punk added. The main themes are so Zimmer-esque. I’d like to get that thrilling feel, that danger vibe, in a Bond score.
Sorry, not true: https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2015/05/26/so-who-really-composed-the-score-for-tron-legacy
And Fukunaga confirms: Hans Zimmer alone is doing the score!
By the way, nice Facebook page for Fukunaga - and a great 25 Bond films intro!
Not an official page for him…his only official social media is Instagram
Oh? Who is doing it then for him?
It’s some sort of fan page. They’ve also set up a YouTube channel too…in any case no official affiliation to Cary.
I see. Thank you! Hah, Facebook can make you believe anything…
Yes, but, luckily, there have been no massively negative consequences…oh…shit
Fingers crossed as well with the short time-frame but he’s the right man for the job. Not expecting “Dunkirk” ambiance from Zimmer with this latest Bond entry but looking forward to his contributions.
I mean there have been rumours of this (or at least of Romer’s removal) for some time so while he’s only just been revealed (although not confirmed by EON at this point to be fully transparent), it’s likely he or his “team” have been working on this for some time already - certainly he isn’t just starting now
Definitely. I guess he was already a possibility when the rumors started in - what - November? And discussions may have started even earlier, when THE RHYTHM SECTION was getting a score from Zimmer´s associate Steve Mazarro.
Yes, I would say that is highly likely. It also hints that EON must have liked that working relationship, and possibly vice versa. Bond is a high profile gig, even for someone of Zimmer’s stature.