Lorne Balfe (Mission: Impossible – Fallout, The LEGO Batman Movie, The Crown, Bad Boys for Life) has recently been scoring Marvel Studios’ upcoming spy thriller Black Widow. The film is directed by Cate Shortland (LoreSomersault) and stars Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, Ray Winstone, William Hurt and O-T Fagbenle. The movie follows the title character as she confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok) wrote the screenplay based on a story by Jac Schaeffer (The Hustle) and Ned Benson (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby). Kevin Feige (Avengers: EndgameBlack PantherIron Man) is producing the project. Alexandre Desplat has originally been announced as the film’s composer earlier this year. Black Widow is currently awaiting a new release date.

Balfe’s other upcoming projects also include the second season of the BBC/HBO series His Dark Materials.

  1. Victor Field says:

    I guess Disney REALLY hates Desplat…

    • Arti says:

      Look on the bright side, Lorne did additonal music for the first Iron Man, he scored The Lego Batman, Ghost in the Shell, Mission Impossible Fallout, Bad Boys For Life. So it’s still a win

      • BB says:

        “Look on the bright side, Lorne did additonal music for the first Iron Man, he scored The Lego Batman, Ghost in the Shell, Mission Impossible Fallout, Bad Boys For Life. So it’s still a win”

        All these scores don’t reach the feet of just ONE written by Desplat.

        “Still a win”

        A pathetic “win”

    • Stephen says:

      Yea between this and Rogue One, what the hell is going on with him and them!!??

    • Michael says:

      Not surprised about this. As soon as the movie got delayed, I knew Desplat was gonna be replaced. But with Rogue One, I heard that Giacchino begged J.J. Abrams to tell Disney to let him score Rogue One and Disney agreed. And given how much influence Zimmer and his RC friends had over the MCU (Balfe already wrote additional músic on Iron Man 1), it makes sense they went for Balfe.

      • Mark says:

        “And given how much influence Zimmer and his RC friends had over the MCU (Balfe already wrote additional músic on Iron Man 1), it makes sense they went for Balfe.”

        Um, one film 12 years ago isn’t much evidence of the “influence Zimmer and his RC friends had over the MCU”.

        • theGordo says:

          Well, opinions aside:
          – Henry Jackman (RCP) wrote two Captain Marvel movies.
          – Pinar Toprak (RCP) wrote Captain Marvel.
          – Andrew Kawczynski (RCP) was additional composer on Ragnarok.
          – Paul Mounsey/T.J. Lindgren (RCP) was additional composer on Avengers 2.
          – Dieter Hartmann (RCP) was additional composer on GotG2.
          – Gavin Greenaway (RCP) conducted 3 MCU scores.
          The list kindaaa goes on, but RCP has influence over a lot of franchises.

      • MrZimmerFan says:

        ‘I heard that Giacchino begged J.J. Abrams to tell Disney to let him score Rogue One and Disney agreed’

        Heard by who?

        Desplat wasn’t aviadable when they begin with the reshoots. And Disney wants the score starting recording as soon as possible, and they call Giacchino because he finished Doctor Strange.

        • qnebra says:

          Desplat has recording sessions for Rogue One scheduled for September. Basically, orchestra had fully prepared sheets on desks when news about replacement come in.

          Reshoots were ealier, also Desplat is known for his incredibly fast work when needed.

          • MrZimmerFan says:

            Desplat works fast, but the heavily reshoots and editing, change most the movie and someone have to recorded the score fast, and Giacchino was aviadable at the time (Desplat has other proyects to star to compose that year and the dates compromise that).

  2. Stephen says:

    Does anyone know what happened? Why is Desplat off of this? He was a far more inspired choice. Balfe is so bland and generic. They might as well have hired Brian Tyler again.

    • Michael says:

      I don’t think Marvel would want to work with Tyler again because they cut all ties to him and his themes because he scored Fast And Furious 7 and broke his contract.

      • Stephen says:

        Ah so that’s the reason they stopped working with him!
        Is there an article somewhere that reported this?

  3. Sean says:

    Discussing this with a friend this is likely due to practical reasons. With the world on lockdown they won’t be able to record an orchestra whilst Balfe could write and produce an entirely electronic score from his bedroom.

    • Stephen says:

      Unless they want a fully electronic score / what he did on ghost in the shell, I doubt this is the reason.

  4. roman says:

    no more remote control shit composers

  5. Solda says:

    Pathetic

  6. Win says:

    marvel should only work with alan silvestri no others

  7. Dan says:

    I Can’t accept this

  8. Trevor says:

    Brilliant news. Lorne Balfe is an excellent choice.

  9. sikanderhyut says:

    Lorne Balfe created a bombass score for HIS DARK MATERIALS (s1) love every theme and track from it.

    BUT DESPLAT IS BAE! There is no one for me above Desplat! This is despicable that u replace such an accomplished Oscar winner with well Lorne Balfe…

    • Stephen says:

      I think the main titles theme for His Dark Materials is some of the worst writing I’ve heard in years. I really can’t stand it.

      I liked Balfe’s work on Ad Astra and Ghost In The Shell, but I agree that it’s despicable that he’s replacing Desplat! They aren’t even remotely in the same league. Desplat is a composer who will go down in history as one of the best. The same cannot be said for Balfe.

      • mills says:

        I think His Dark Materials is far better than the other works Balfe did last year, including the main theme and character themes.
        About ad astra, Balfe’s part is almost invisible and generic compared to Max Richter’s part, I don’t see why you liked it.

  10. mills says:

    I think Desplat style is not a good match for Black Widow movie. Balfe could be a better choice.

    • herbis says:

      No I don’t agree. That’s like saying Leo DiCaprio shouldn’t be cast in a superhero movie because he hasn’t done one before.

      Listen to Desplat’s score for Godzilla and tell me he can’t do action.

      Desplat is a superior composer in every aspect. This would have been his first superhero movie and he would have knocked it out the park.

  11. Al says:

    Bring on the Balfness

  12. Bernd-Helmut Heine says:

    Another Desplat score would have been great. But I can also live with Balfe…

  13. Cobie says:

    Terrible news

  14. Andrea says:

    Balfe is the best.i have been waiting years for him to do a super hero movie.
    Fantastic

  15. Julian says:

    It’s very disappointing to see how disrespectful some you guys are. Nobody knows what happened, maybe there is a good reason for this, maybe not. You can voice your opinion but show some respect.

    It’s not a life and death issue, it’s just a film….

    • Anon says:

      He still sucks.

    • Caitlyn says:

      This is an open form for us to express our opinion on this topic. We have just as much right to say how we feel about this as you do.

      Is some of the stuff people are saying about Balfe disrespectful? Yes. But thats what happens when a lesser artist takes over from someone superior.

  16. Mike says:

    If he sucks so much why does he get so much work !!!
    Making stupid and rude comments is a waste of time.
    He is probably the busiest composer at the moment so he must be doing something right.

    • BB says:

      “If he sucks so much why does he get so much work !!!”

      Because he’s a Zimmer clone. Just for that. This is not a compliment. Anyone protected by him could be cast here, and the result would be exactly the same.

      “He is probably the busiest composer at the moment so he must be doing something right.”

      James Horner was also. But he had two things that Balfe lacks: quality and originality.

      Making music just like Zimmer, ANYONE is able to do it.

      • Stephen says:

        “If he sucks so much why does he get so much work !!!”

        Because he’s a safe bet. You’ll get something that does the job, on time, for cheap.

  17. Lorne Balfe seems a wise choice, why not give it a try for Black Widow?

  18. Patty Ramos says:

    How can I find he full soundtrack to the future BlackWidow? Not the Trailer music?

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