Despite what you may (or may not) have seen from the majority of the marketing for Justice League, Superman is definitely in this movie. How exactly he'll come back to life and how he factors into the grander scheme of the plot is still unclear, but the Man of Steel (Henry Cavill) will be stopping by to aid the league when the time comes. In addition to his physical presence, Justice League also has a really fun audio easter egg to DC's flagship hero. Danny Elfman, the composer of the Justice League soundtrack, put in a reference to the iconic score from Superman in one of his own compositions. Check it out.
Danny Elfman, the man behind the music for Batman and The Simpsons, delivered the soundtrack for Justice League and he threw in a pretty awesome reference to one of the most iconic soundtracks ever: 1978's Superman. It's one of the most popular theme songs out there, so of course, it had to be in Justice League! Spotted by Twitter user SindarOath, the easter egg is hidden inside the song "Friends and Foes," and pops in at the 22-second mark. Even though it's a bit of a dark song, the "daaa-da-da-da-daaa" is pretty unmistakable.
Originally composed by John Williams as the main theme for 1978's Superman, the song has essentially become THE Superman theme, having been deeply associated and referenced with the character ever since the film first premiered. It's one of the most recognizable compositions in cinema, so you can hardly blame Danny Elfman for throwing in his own spin on it in his Justice League track.
Also interesting, though, is the "Friends and Foes" song that the reference pops up in. While we don't know the actual context of it, the song itself is fairly dark with a dash of foreboding and sadness. Those aren't really the emotions I'd use to describe the Superman theme, so what does this mean for Superman in the movie? Danny Elfman was really excited about being to able to twist this melody and make you question what side Superman is on. There is an internet theory that Superman will be a villain in the film, even temporarily, but this song doesn't exactly confirm that just yet. (It doesn't exactly un-confirm it, either.) It's food for thought at the very least, and I'm interested to see how it all comes together in a few weeks.
Superman will join Justice League when the movie finally arrives in theaters on November 17. Tickets for the movie are available for pre-order, and you can get yours right here. In the meantime, learn everything you can about Justice League with our What We Know So Far guide. Justice League has lots of characters too so keep track of them all with our comprehensive character guide.
