Marvel composers on creating music for mutants, gods and heroes

Laura Karpman brought choral sounds in season 2 of “What If…?” while Natalie Holt restored the “Loki” theme for the series’ second season. The Newton Brothers enter the Marvel Universe by scoring “X-Men ’97,” and Kris Bowers delves into “Secret Invasion.” These are among Marvel’s composers
TV shows compete for Emmy consideration.

Despite telling different stories, each composer worked to create a score that felt big, epic and exciting – exactly what fans and audiences expect from a Marvel TV show.

Holt knew that season 2 of “Loki” would be darker and that the titular character (Tom Hiddleston) would ascend the throne and become a brand new god. “By the end of episode 6 I knew where it was going, so I had the idea of ​​an old Norwegian choir that would call him to his faith,” she says. Holt eventually did a recording session with chants that were raw and guttural, expanding into a choir as the character approached the throne. But to keep with Loki’s theme and fame she built in Season 1, she wove elements of that into Season 2, building on what she’d already built.

Similarly, Karpman teamed up with wife Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum to bring unexpected twists to “What If…?” She also turned to choirs for season 2.

Andy Grush and Taylor Stewart, better known as the Newton Brothers, had the mighty task of scoring Disney’s ‘X-Men ’97’. With the synth-heavy theme song from the original 1992 animated series already established, they had to nod to the familiar melody while finding a way to put their own creative stamp on their rendition. Ultimately, they had a theme that mixed orchestral music, modern synths and a choir.

For ‘Secret Invasion’, Bowers created a music suite based on the theme of character Nick Fury, which eventually became the main theme of the title. That piece of music would also lay the foundation for how Bowers approached the rest of the score.