Exclusive: ‘The Suicide Squad’ Score To Be Composed By John Murphy
Update: A report has been making the rounds claiming that Tyler Bates, writer/directorJames Gunn’s longtime composer, would be reuniting with Gunn to compose the score for the upcoming Warner Bros. and DC superhero sequelThe Suicide Squad. While that report came from a normally-reliable source, people close to the production have informed us that it was incorrect. We’ve learned thatJohn Murphy(Kick-Ass,Sunshine) will actually be providing the new score. Read Suicide Squadcomposer and listen to a few of his songs below.
The Suicide Squad Score
James Gunn has spent his entire career as a feature film director working with only one composer, Tyler Bates, so it stood to reason that Bates would be joining Gunn once again forThe Suicide Squad. But it turns out John Murphy is tackling the score instead. Murphy composed the scores for Guy Ritchie’s early gangster films likeLock, Stock and Two Smoking BarrelsandSnatch, and he’s collaborated with Danny Boyle on movies like28 Days Later…andSunshine. His other credits includeThe Perfect Score,Miami Vice, and tons of others, and he’s dipped into superhero territory already with the score for 2010’sKick-Ass. I’m curious to see if this collaboration will be a one-time thing between Murphy and Gunn, or if it might mark the start of another long partnership. Here’s a selection of Murphy’s tracks from across his career:
The Suicide Squadis Gunn’s follow-up to David Ayer’s messy origin story about DC’s famous group of mercenaries and villains. The film starsMargot Robbieas Harley Quinn,Jai Courtneyas Captain Boomerang,Viola Davisas Amanda Waller,Joel Kinnamanas Rick Flagg,David Dastmalchian(The Dark Knight) as Polka-Dot Man,Daniel Melchioras Ratcatcher, andSteve Agee(Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) as the voice of King Shark.Flula Borgis playing the love interest of one of the characters, but we’re still not sure which one. There’s been lots of confusion aboutIdris Elba, who was originally brought on to replaceWill Smithas Deadshot, but now seems to be playing a different character, presumably in case Smith wants to come back for another sequel.Storm Reidis playing Elba’s daughter.John Cena,Taika Waititi,Sean Gunn,Nathan Fillion,Peter Capaldi,Alice Braga, Pete Davidson, Jennifer Holland, Juan Diego Botto, Julio Ruiz, Joaquin Cosio, Tinashe Kajese, andMayling Ngare also on board.
Gunn recently said Harley Quinn is high on his list of personal favorite characters he’s been associated with: “Harley is one of my favorite characters I’ve ever written,” hesaidin an Instagram Q&A. “In fact, she’s probably my favorite comic character whose personality was well-defined before I wrote her for the screen. She’s an incredible companion to have while writing her insane actions and dialogue.”
The Suicide Squad, which is the “most complex”, “biggest”, and “most fun” movie Gunnhas worked on so far, is currently slated for release onAugust 6, 2021.
