Listen: 17-minute extract from Hans Zimmer's new Superman score

9 May 2013, 09:58

Hans Zimmer's score for Man Of Steel has been given an online preview, with 17 minutes of full soundtrack available for fans to hear.

Living up to John Williams' original score for Superman was always going to be a tall order for film composer Hans Zimmer. But now Water Tower Music have posted 17 minutes of music from Zimmer's new score for Man Of Steel, the new Superman movie set for release in June.

Zimmer has previously commented on the pressure of composing for the film in the shadow of John Williams, admitting: "I spent three months just procrastinating and not even getting a start on the thing, because I was so intimidated."

The 17-minute extract, made up of several short snippets from different tracks in the movie, bears no resemblance to any previous John Williams score, and has a much more muted, less anthemic feel to it. Much of the available is percussion-heavy and bombastic, but there are many softer and more reflective moments scored just for strings.

Zimmer is best-known for his soundtracks to movies like Gladiator, The Lion King and, more recently, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and Inception. Nolan is listed as producer on Man Of Steel, and the film is directed by Zack Snyder.

What do you think of the new score? Listen above and let us know in the comments below.