Danny Elfman, known for frequently collaborating with Tim Burton to score films like “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” is composing the music for the rumored Universal Classic Monsters land in Epic Universe.
The land, likely called Dark Universe, is all but confirmed, with attractions and scenery visible during the construction of the new Universal Orlando Resort park.
In an interview with Deadline, Elfman said he currently splits his time between creating different kinds of music and “monster music” for an Orlando theme park, which could only be Epic Universe.
“How to keep yourself fresh is really always the trick for anybody with a long career,” Elfman said. “You know, it’s real easy, for me, after a hundred or 110 films or something, just to kind of coast on, ‘All right, I’ve got this certain kind of thing, and I’ll get a couple of films every year, and that’s what I do,’ and rest on my past. But it just doesn’t make me happy. So, I just have to keep working on new, challenging things.”
Elfman composed the music for Burton’s “Beetlejuice” and a sequel is currently in production. Elfman told Deadline it’s “very exciting” to return to that world. He also spoke about the TV series “Wednesday,” executive produced by Burton. Elfman composed the show’s score with Chris Bacon. He expressed a desire to perform “Wednesday” music live and said “it’s kind of inevitable” that the theme will be added to Elfman-Burton live performances.
Elfman is also known for working with Sam Raimi on “Spider-Man,” “Spider-Man 2,” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” He also scored Disney’s “Meet the Robinsons,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” live-action “Alice in Wonderland,” and more. Some of his notable work with connections to Universal Parks includes the “Men in Black” film scores and “The Grinch” (2018).
Elfman’s other theme park work includes the music of Mystic Manor in Hong Kong Disneyland. A portrait of Elfman appears on the ride as an Easter egg.
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