Marvel Studios earned a bit of a reputation for crafting unmemorable film scores for about a decade, but that’s been changing over the last few films and it appears the boldness will continue withCaptain Marvel. The studio has enlisted composerPinar Toprakto write the score for theBrie Larson-fronted superhero film, marking the first female composer to ever score a Marvel Studios film. Toprak is a bit of a fresh talent, working on a number of smaller scale thrillers and horror movies before breaking out in a big way last year as the composer for Syfy’s Superman prequel seriesKryptonand the immensely popular video gameFortnite.
Anna BodenandRyan Fleck(Half Nelson) are directingCaptain Marvel, which is Marvel Studios’ long-awaited first superhero movie with a solo female lead. It was important to the studio to enlist a female filmmaker for the project, and while there are currently five credited screenwriters on the film in addition to Boden and Fleck’s contributions, all of them are women. So it’s great that Marvel went out of its way to find a female composer to really put their money where their mouth is with this particular movie. And before you start with the, “Just find the best person for the job regardless of gender" nonsense, keep in mind Marvel will have released 20 films with 20 male composers by the timeCaptain Marvelcomes out, so they can afford to narrow theCaptain Marvelcomposer shortlist down to just women.
While it’s true that Marvel’s film scores were lacking for nearly a decade, the work done onSpider-Man: Homecoming(Giacchino),Thor: Ragnarok(Mothersbaugh), andBlack Panther(Goransson) shows a willingness on Marvel’s partto finally get bold with their music choices, and it’s paying off. Toprak is another dynamic choice, and I can’t wait to hear what she puts together forCaptain Marvel.
Listen to some of Toprak’s work below. The 1990s-setCaptain Marvelalso starsBen Mendelsohn,Samuel L. Jackson,Jude Law,Clark Gregg,Lee Pace,Djimon Hounsou,Lashanna Lynch,Gemma Chan,Rune Temte, andMckenna Graceand opens in theaters on August 09, 2025.
Here’s the official synopsis forCaptain Marvel:
The story follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s, “Captain Marvel” is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
