Over the course of its history, media adaptations of Batman have generated a wide variety of music produced in connection with both live-action and animated television series, and with the many Batman films.
Music associated with Batman media includes:
Daniel Robert Elfman is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his first studio film in 1985, Elfman has garnered international recognition for composing over 100 feature film scores, as well as compositions for television, stage productions, and the concert hall.
Tom Holkenborg, also known by his stage name Junkie XL or occasionally JXL, is a Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and engineer.
Shirley Anne Walker was an American film and television composer and conductor. She was one of the few female film score composers working in Hollywood during her career. Walker was one of the first female composers to earn a solo score credit on a major Hollywood motion picture and according to the Los Angeles Times, is remembered as a pioneer for women in the film industry.
The WS Award for Best Original Soundtrack of the Year is one of the three main prizes given by the World Soundtrack Academy to honour the best movie soundtracks.
Batman Begins: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album to Christopher Nolan's 2005 film Batman Begins. It was released on June 15, 2005. The soundtrack drew from the film score, composed by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, as well as contributions by Ramin Djawadi, Lorne Balfe and Mel Wesson.
Batman Forever: Original Motion Picture Score Album is a 1995 Grammy-nominated film score album for Batman Forever, composed by Elliot Goldenthal. It was released in conjunction with its soundtrack counterpart. Despite Goldenthal having recorded over 2 hours of music, the soundtrack only had 45 minutes before La-La Land Records released an expanded version in 2012. The score features big brass, strings and discordant noises while maintaining an anthemic sound. Regarding the villainous leitmotifs, Goldenthal said Two-Face features paired notes and doubled beats while being inspired by Russian composers such as Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich, and Riddler has a sound reminiscent of old science fiction B-movies with a theremin. On the U2 single "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me", there is a track titled "Themes from Batman Forever" composed by Goldenthal; this can also be found on the expanded release issued in 2012.
"The Simpsons Theme", also referred to as "The Simpsons Main Title Theme" in album releases, is the theme music of the animated television series The Simpsons. It plays during the opening sequence and was composed by Danny Elfman in 1989, after series creator Matt Groening approached him requesting a theme. The piece has been noted by Elfman as the most popular of his career.
Batman & Robin: Music from and Inspired by the "Batman & Robin" Motion Picture is the soundtrack album to the motion picture Batman & Robin (1997).
Batman Forever: Music from the Motion Picture is the 1995 soundtrack to the motion picture Batman Forever.
The Dark Knight: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 2008 film of the same name, which is a sequel to Christopher Nolan's 2005 film Batman Begins. The soundtrack was released on July 15, 2008, in three editions: CD, limited edition CD digipak, and digital download. The 2-CD Special Edition was released on December 9, along with the DVD. A limited edition 180-gram vinyl LP was released on August 12. The soundtrack was composed by Batman Begins collaborators Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard and recorded in April.
Batman: Original Motion Picture Score is the score album for the 1989 film Batman by Danny Elfman. According to the Batman DVD Special Edition, Elfman said that producer Jon Peters was not sure about him as a composer until Tim Burton made him play the main titles. Elfman admitted he was stunned when Peters announced that the score would be released on its own album. The score was widely acclaimed by the press and in many contemporary reviews is cited as the highlight of the film.
Mad Max: Fury Road is a soundtrack album for the 2015 film, Mad Max: Fury Road, composed by Tom Holkenborg a.k.a. Junkie XL. It was released on 12 May 2015 through WaterTower Music.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the soundtrack to the film of the same name composed by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL. It was released on March 18, 2016, by WaterTower Music. The exclusive deluxe edition of the album contains five bonus tracks, entitled "Blood of My Blood", "Vigilante", "May I Help You, Mr. Wayne?", "They Were Hunters" and "Fight Night". The soundtrack also features the Eric Whitacre Singers.
Justice League: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the film of the same name composed by Danny Elfman. It was released on November 10, 2017, by WaterTower Music, while the physical edition was released on December 8 by WaterTower. Most of the material used in Elfman's soundtrack was discarded by Tom Holkenborg when he returned to score the 2021 director's cut of the film.
Music for a Darkened Theatre: Film & Television Music Volume One is a compilation album of select film scores and television themes written by American composer Danny Elfman from the early 1980s to 1990.
Wonder Woman 1984 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The music is composed and arranged by Hans Zimmer. It was released on December 16, 2020, by WaterTower Music.
Zack Snyder's Justice League (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the film of the same name, itself a director's cut of the 2017 theatrical film which had its own soundtrack. Tom Holkenborg, also known as Junkie XL, composed the film's score; he had previously worked on a score for the theatrical version of Justice League, before being replaced by Danny Elfman following original director Zack Snyder's departure and Joss Whedon's arrival. Upon Snyder getting the chance to finish and release his version of the film, Holkenberg was brought back and decided to rescore the film from scratch. The album was released via WaterTower Music on March 18, 2021, the same day as the film's release, and was later released as a limited-edition 7-disc vinyl set on April 14. The film's score is notable as the longest in film history at nearly four hours long.
Army of the Dead (Music From the Netflix Film) is the soundtrack album to the 2021 American film Army of the Dead, directed by Zack Snyder. The soundtrack was released by Milan Records on May 21, 2021, coinciding the day with its global release on Netflix. It features 12 tracks from the original score composed by Tom Holkenborg, also known as Junkie XL, and the Elvis Presley song "Viva Las Vegas" (performed by Richard Cheese and Allison Crowe). In addition, a limited edition 2-disc vinyl set of the soundtrack was released on September 10.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is the soundtrack to the 1993 animated superhero film of the same name. Featuring music composed by Shirley Walker, the main composer of Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995), the film's soundtrack was released by Reprise Records on December 14, 1993. It featured 11 tracks—it also included an original song "I Never Even Told You" was written by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard and performed by Tia Carrere; Walker's score accompanied the remainder of it. A limited edition soundtrack released in over 3,000 copies by La-La Land Records on March 24, 2009. It contains the full score, as well as previously unreleased material from Walker's score being included in the album.
The Flash (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2023 film The Flash directed by Andy Muschietti. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, the film is the 13th installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Featuring an original score composed by Benjamin Wallfisch, who worked with Muschietti on It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019) and also scored DC's Shazam. The album was released by WaterTower Music on June 16, 2023, and was led by four singles—"World's Collide", "Run", "I Am Batman" and "Sounds About Right, Bruce"—released on May 12 and 31.
