Alexandre Desplat has been hired to score the upcoming thriller Zero Dark Thirty. The film is helmed by Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) and stars Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Fares Fares, Jason Clarke, Mark Strong, Edgar Ramirez, Chris Pratt, Kyle Chandler, Nash Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle and Harold Perrineau Jr. Mark Boal who collaborated with Bigelow on The Hurt Locker has written the screenplay and is also producing the film with the director and Megan Ellison. Bigelow has previously worked with such composers as Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders (The Hurt Locker), Mark Isham (Point Break), Klaus Badelt (K-19: The Widowmaker) and Graeme Revell (Strange Days). Zero Dark Thirty is set to be released on December 19, 2012 by Sony Pictures. Check out the trailer below and visit the official movie website for updates.

Desplat’s other films to be released this fall in the US include Ben Affleck’s Argo, Dreamworks Animation’s Rise of the Guardians, which is currently being recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London and Jacques Audiard’s Rust and Bone.

  1. Macejko says:

    Bad choice, really bad choice… This should go to John Powell.

    • David says:

      Why bad choice? Listen to Desplat’s Syriana, he blends middle eastern music with orchestra perfectly. Powell’s middle eastern scores are great, but very percussion-driven with few melodies.

      • Macejko says:

        I just think Desplat is better suited for quiterer, atmospherical scores, not action driven ones like this. I have a feeling that this particular movie will be very similar to Green Zone, so Powell immediatelly popped up in my mind. But who knows, I’ve never heard Syriana.

        • Casey says:

          Completely disagree with the doubters here. Desplat has a distinctive style and I’m very sure Bigelow’s thought of that. To say this film is going to be like Green Zone is a bit odd…have you seen The Hurt Locker? I’m sure it won’t be exactly like that, but Desplat’s employment is a tactical move and while I’m hugely pleased with it, I believe that the end result will be liked and disliked equally. Can’t wait to see and hear this!

  2. Ds says:

    Agree with Macejko on this topic. Desplat is at his best in very intimist soundtracks, not big ones.

    • David says:

      The last Bigelow movie had a very small score, and Desplat has done very small scores lately. So, I think that Bigelow choose him because the score will not to be very big. Maybe something like Syriana or the upcoming Argo.