Jon Burlingame, host of the Disney For Scores Podcast Series, was joined by three composers from Marvel films on the Backlot Stage at D23 Expo today. Together, they discusses the ideas behind Marvel music, music in the Disney Parks and more.
Burlingame was joined by Laura Karpman (Ms. Marvel), Pinar Toprak (Captain Marvel) and Tyler Bates (Guardians of the Galaxy).
Toprak interestingly pointed out that she was inspired by the Lethal Weapon films for part of the Captain Marvel score, specifically the chase scenes. When Burlingame asked her about the main theme of the film, she explained that she still has a voice memo in her phone of herself humming the theme from when she first came up with it.
On the parks side, Toprak talked a bit about the EPCOT theme she created, which currently welcomes guests to the park. She said she was actually in the park just a week ago as she is currently working on integrating the theme to the rest of the park. She also explained that she visited EPCOT for the first time shortly after moving to the US and to that point, she had only ever been to Istanbul and Wisconsin. Her very first experience in the park created a little spark that has led to the incredible music that impacts out experiences there today.
And speaking of EPCOT, Bates also brought music to the park for the new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction. He says they actually recorded more than 165 minutes of music for the attraction. As you would guess, he also created the music for Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! in Disney California Adventure. Bates drew a laugh from the crowd when explained that his meetings for work on that attraction took place after midnight because it was still in operation as Tower of Terror at the time.
As far as Guardians of the Galaxy is concerned, Bates admitted that he was actually in a few of the early frames of the film, in addition to creating the music, but was later cut out. Groot’s cocoon scene was also showed as an example of Bates music and he later said he still hears parts of his finished work and thinks “that’s not what I wrote.”
After a montage showing off some of Karpman’s work on Ms. Marvel was screened, the composer explained that most of the series’ score was recorded in Vienna while incredibly talented soloists actually recorded their parts in either Pakistan or India.
As for another Marvel project Karpman worked on, she discussed a bit of her work from Marvel’s What If…?. She specifically singled out her theme for Captain Carter, explaining that it is actually simply Captain America’s theme “turned upside down.”
Finally, Karpman was asked about her next Marvel project, The Marvels. Burlingame asked if she has begun working on the music for the upcoming film and if she could tell us anything about what we can expect to hear. Karpman’s response was a simple “Yes. No,” which also drew a nice laugh from everyone in the room.
If you want to hear more from some of your favorite composers, you can listen to the Disney For Scores Podcast Series wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Be sure to follow along for all of our D23 Expo 2022 coverage all weekend long.