‘Thunderbolts*’ Composers Son Lux on Creating a New Superhero Theme and Foreshadowing It Early in the Film

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SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers for “Thunderbolts*,” now playing in theaters.

When director Jake Schreier, known for “Thunderbolts”, was tasked with creating the 36th film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he decided to break free from traditional superhero movie norms.

He recognized that the music should stand out, so he invited the avant-garde group Son Lux (consisting of Ryan Lott, Ian Chang, and Rafiq Bhatia) to create the movie’s soundtrack.

The group of antiheroes, consisting of Black Widow agent Yelena Belova (played by Florence Pugh); Bucky Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan); Red Guardian, Yelena’s adoptive father and Russian super soldier (David Harbour); the failed Captain America imitator John Walker (Wyatt Russell); the stealthy and ethereal spy Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen); and martial arts expert Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), find themselves in a lethal trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). As they navigate this dangerous situation, they are compelled to confront their past wounds.

As a cinephile, I was fortunate to be roped in at an early stage in the production process, way before the cameras even started rolling. In a conversation with EbMaster, Lott mentioned that our inclusion was due to our ability to infuse the project with a unique, outside perspective.

And they did.

Each week, Schreier would connect with the band at minimum once, and various concepts were proposed – they primarily relied on the script for guidance.

A significant clue was the full rendition of the Thunderbolts’ theme music at the movie’s end, which was the first piece that Lott successfully deciphered. This theme begins with a repeating eight-note pattern played by brass instruments, later joined by strings as it swells to its climax.

According to Lott, “The piece has several parts. It features a strong bassline that stands out and could work independently. Then there’s a kind of secondary melody with a spicy tone, followed by the main melody. The magic moment for Jake was when he heard them all combined together, which made him exclaim, ‘That sounds like “Thunderbolts*”.’ Lott further notes that even before Jake heard the main melody, just the individual components, was the first time he said it reminded him of “Thunderbolts*’.

For the first time, the tune is heard when Yelena goes to her father’s house and glances at a childhood photo of her soccer team, the Thunderbolts. Lott explains that this moment is presented emotionally because it’s not about the Thunderbolts soccer team; instead, it stirs memories and feelings of longing in Yelena. He points out that Yelena seems trapped in her current situation and yearns for something more. According to him, she carries a sense of disappointment or regret.

The film’s central idea is consistently fragmented, mirroring characters who hold independent views. Bhatia notes, “There’s a sense in which its conclusion ties up loose ends. It’s crafted to make the audience feel comfortable and at home. So when you eventually hear the complete version, it feels surprisingly familiar.

In their unique approach, the band focused on how they assigned themes to each character and whether these characters had distinct solo motifs. Lott clarifies, “One of our initial inquiries was whether we should have themes for each character, and how much independent screen time they would actually get. When paired together, whose theme would be heard?” He further elaborates, “These queries naturally led us to the conclusion that The Thunderbolts is a team, and individualizing them wasn’t suitable. Instead, it was about capturing the collective dynamism and the shared journey of this group as they gradually united.”

*Thunderbolts is assumed to be the name of the band or the team in the original text.

The film’s new villain, Sentry, was the sole exception to the rule. The character’s theme is deeply unsettling, yet incredibly powerful, but it quickly becomes clear that beneath this terrifying exterior lies a great deal of pain and fracture. This motif is explored in various ways throughout the movie. Moreover, it is only heard once in a poignant and private scene in the entire film, played on a broken piano.

https://open.spotify.com/watch?v=album/5JTAY7hOUdzJx2GslB4nwc

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2025-05-03 23:46