“The MCU, by some standards, feels like one of the biggest interconnected mythologies that exists”: Son Lux on Thunderbolts*
A film unlike any other within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thunderbolts* explores deeper themes like the search for purpose and human connection. It follows a ragtag group of misfits, navigating the world without the original Avengers. With people scrambling to find new heroes to save them and no one willing to step up, this team led by Yelena Belova – surrogate sister of the late Black Widow – is unwillingly forced to work together to stop the world from falling into perpetual darkness. Starring Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen and Lewis Pullman, Thunderbolts* sees the action take a backseat in favour of a more profound journey through grief, regret and uncertainty.
Aside from the star-studded lineup, another highlight is the score, curated by the band Son Lux. The trio of musicians joined a global press conference to discuss the relationship between cinema as a medium and storytelling through song. They talked about how their way of creating records, which often began conceptually rather than being dependent on the melody or lyrics, resonated with the process of composing for a feature. “We’re more like scientists, in some ways, where we have a creative hypothesis and we try to discover the solution for it. I think filmmaking is a lot like that,” said Ryan Lott. Ian Chang expanded on the score as a character itself that guided the audience through the arcs. They were lucky enough to have worked early on the project, rather than the standard involvement during post-production, which allowed them to use the script as a reference point before anything was ever shot.
Another big discussion was the MCU as a whole, with 36 titles and counting, and all the different composers that have worked on the franchise: Alan Silvestri, Henry Jackman, Tyler Bates – to name but a few. “The MCU, by some standards, feels like one of the biggest interconnected mythologies that exists,” said Rafiq Bhatia. He then explained the privilege of having been part of such a behemoth of a cinematic universe and the challenges of scoring something that honoured the rich history of Marvel but also gave voice to a story that functioned within its specific narrative and was unique to Jake Schreier’s direction. Beyond that, the group wanted their sound to fit the more grounded and intimate nature of the themes, while giving space for the big moments that spoke to the level of scale that the MCU operates within. More importantly, they wanted their mark on the franchise to reflect their music as well – the melancholic and uplifting melodies that exhibit emotional rawness. As Bhatia said, “I think making music feels like therapy for the three of us.”
The press conference also covered the band’s work on Everything Everywhere All at Once, for which they received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score. They discussed how that first experience of scoring a movie impacted the way they make records and the difference between working on that film and working on Thunderbolts*. Because of the multiverse aspect of Everything Everywhere All at Once, they, as a group of different composers, were able to take advantage of that diversity, unlike Thunderbolts*, which saw a collection of different sounds and music that came together as one for the film. With the former, they were involved with the production of it before anyone else, and it allowed them “to help grow the film from its early seeds”. Overall, both were rewarding experiences that continue to shape them as individuals and as a group.
As the conference drew to a close, all three discussed some pieces of cinema that have solidified the connection between picture and soundtrack. For Bhatia, it was the Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, one which has almost no music in it, but spoke to Bhatia because of its use of sound through the environment and how that evoked a sense of place and aided in the evolution of the characters and the expansion of the storyline. To Chang, it was the Japanese animated film Akira, which he credited with having subconsciously influenced him in the application of percussion in the scoring of Thunderbolts*. As for Lott, it was Raising Arizona, a feature he shared he’d watched many times yet only recently realised how “profoundly strange” the score was. It reminded him of one of the things he loved about making music for a picture: “We can do things musically in the context of film, and we get away with some amazing ideas that we wouldn’t necessarily come up with or think of to put on a record.”
Mae Trumata
Thunderbolts* is released nationwide on 1st May 2025.
Watch the trailer for Thunderbolts* here:
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