'Black Widow': 'MI6' composer Lorne Balfe replaces Oscar-winning Alexandre Desplat in last-minute change
In what comes as a major change, 'Black Widow' has replaced Oscar-winning music composer Alexandre Desplat with 'Mission: Impossible – Fallout' composer Lorne Balfe. This is the second time the composer, best known for his work on 'Shape of Water' and 'Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows', was replaced. Earlier, Desplat was replaced by Michael Giacchino on 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'.
While the reason for the swap was unclear, a report by Film Music Reporter looks at scheduling conflicts as one of the reasons. The case was similar to 'Rogue Wars' when in an interview with Film School Rejects, Desplat shed light on the switch from the Disney Project to 'Valerian'.
"I changed because 'Star Wars' went very late," he said. "It got delayed for two months. And I wanted to do this film with Luc and had I stayed in 'Star Wars' I could not have made this movie with Luc (Besson). Yes, and I chose that moment to go for Luc because I was committed and that was it."
'Black Widow' delayed its initial May 1 release date due to the coronavirus outbreak and with the new release date yet to be decided, it looks like Balfe will be coming in to make some changes in the music department.
The official synopsis reads: "In Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller 'Black Widow', Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger."
"Scarlett Johansson reprises her role as Natasha/Black Widow, Florence Pugh stars as Yelena, David Harbour portrays Alexei/The Red Guardian, and Rachel Weisz is Melina. Directed by Cate Shortland and produced by Kevin Feige, 'Black Widow' — the first film in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe."
What are your thoughts on Balfe replacing Desplat for scoring the music for 'Black Widow'?
The new official release date for 'Black Widow' hasn't been announced yet.