Composer Giacchino Reveals Scrapped Fantastic Four Score

In a recent panel discussion, acclaimed composer Michael Giacchino disclosed that he had written not one, but two complete scores for Marvel's upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps film. Giacchino, who has previously scored several Marvel projects including three Spider-Man movies, Doctor Strange, and Thor: Love and Thunder, joined the Fantastic Four project when Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige asked him to compose music for the film's Comic-Con presentation.

However, when Giacchino saw the final cut of the movie, he no longer felt his initial score was appropriate. "Musically, when I'm writing, I like to start at the beginning and go through the end," he explained. "I had built this out based on one version of the movie. When I watched that music against the new version of the movie, I was like, 'Oh my God, this is not working for me.'" Feige gave Giacchino one of the film's pickup days to rerecord the score.

This is not the first time Giacchino has faced such a challenge in his composing career. "You just never know," he said. "What we do is a best guess. Everyone is taking their best guess at something and you're not always right."

Giacchino, whose original goal was to become a director, is now set to helm a new film for Warner Bros. "As a composer, it's a very solitary thing," he said. "I missed that interaction with a group of people. To me, movies are the greatest group art form there is."