Don’t worry, film nerds. The state of theChristopher Nolan/Hans Zimmerunion is still strong. One of the most fruitful director-composer relationships of the last decade or so is certainly Nolan and Zimmer, with works likeInterstellarandDunkirkexperimenting with the cinematic (and sonic) form to phenomenal results whileInceptionand theDark Knight Trilogystraight-up influenced an entire generation of blockbuster music composition (for better or worse…). But for the first time since 2006’sThe Prestige, Nolan will be working with a composer other than Zimmer on his next film, the globe-spanning spy thrillerTenet.
The prolific Zimmer actually had to choose between Nolan’s next film and a different project, and to the surprise of many, he went with the non-Nolan one. Which just so happens to beDune, directed byDenis Villeneuve. Zimmer recently worked with Villeneuve onBlade Runner 2049, which he co-composed withBenjamin Wallfisch, and appearing on thenew The Playlist podcast The Fourth Wall, Zimmer explains why he choseDuneoverTenet—and luckily, it has nothing to do with a rift between Zimmer and Nolan:
“Duneis one of my favorite books from my teenage years. I love Denis Villeneuve, obviously, and Joe Walker his editor, he and I did12 Years a Slavetogether, we didWidows, but we really started working in 1988 for the BBC together. It kind of feels like family. And I never saw the originalDunemovie, so I’m coming in in a rather fresh way, just from the book.”
Zimmer underlined how his lifelong love ofFrank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi novel madeDunea movie he felt like hehadto do, and noted that Nolan understands. Moreover, Zimmer knows that Nolan is in terrific hands with reigning Best Original Score Oscar-winnerLudwig Göransson:
“I have to do it, and Chris understands I have to do it, and he’s gonna be just fine. Ludwig, we’re friends. But forget the friend part—he’s really good. He’s really good.”
Indeed, Göransson is coming off his Oscar win for scoringBlack Pantherand scores the upcomingStar WarsTV showThe Mandalorian. And to be honest, as much as I adore Nolan and Zimmer’s collaborations, I think it’s good for established filmmakers to shake up their moviemaking teams every now and again—imagineSteven Spielbergcollaborating with someone like cinematographerBradford Younginstead ofJanusz Kaminskifor a change.
So I for one can’t wait for both Zimmer’sDunescore and Göransson’sTenetscore. Listen to the full podcast interview below:
