What was the last "iconic" movie theme?
 

I feel like movies nowadays don't really create "iconic" themes.... which is odd because today is all about franchises....

What was the last "iconic" theme? Like a theme that most random people on the street would "know"?

Harry Potter? The first one came out in 2001.

Has there been any really iconic themes since?

Sure, there have been movies that have had good themes and music, but nothing that has become "iconic"........

Wonder woman theme has potential.

Is it even out?

It was in batman vs superman and tje end of the wonder woman trailer.

Oh.... that one..... feel like that isn't very "memorable"....... I guess if a Wonder Woman franchise is widely successful, they could force it to be...... Right now doesn't seem "up there"......

This is about what the last iconic theme was, anyways..... not what the next one will be......

I don't know if it is "iconic", but I feel like the theme to the movie "Up" is the only recent mainstream theme I would recognize.

LotR

LotR good example, but again it goes back to 2001. Also, not sure if LotR is as "iconic" as Harry Potter music, since LotR more "polarizing" to the masses............. Certainly great music, though......

Pirates of the Carribean.

Good thread

Pirates of the Carribean is a good one. Brings us up to 2003.

Inspired by watching this video

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Talks about how film scores don't really "take chances anymore"..... talks about how directors will cut to temp music that they steal from other movies, and then often have the composer just copy that music, leading to a lot of similar sounding music in movies......

Throwing out the pissing match between Marvel/Fox, the initial X-Men theme had the *potential* to be iconic. As it is, people remember the (greatest goddamn intro ever) theme from the 90's cartoon more than the film score... and that's about the only Marvel movie that has anything that sticks out.

Even at the general point, sometimes even the studio intro was part of the memorable theme sequence. I remember Episode VII sounding kinda naked without initial 20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm Fanfare, and just jumping straight to the Star Wars theme. Or little touches, like the Universal Intro being 8-bit sound for Scott Pilgrim (and interestingly, the orchestral version usually in movies was used on the pixelated logo screen for the game).

But you'd know the main string cue if you heard it. Would easily fit in one of those "100 years, 100 movies" arrangements as well as an E.T. or a Rocky.

I can hum every MCU theme. I like them all except the Civil War theme.

That does not make them "iconic", though..... I love the theme from The Avengers and the first two Captain America movies, but I doubt the average joe would be able to hum them on command. Heck, even I would struggle with it...... Trying to hum The Avengers theme, I keep humming the theme from the "Kelvin-verse" Star Trek films......

Which is a good theme too..... is it "iconic", though?!

Any of The Dark Knight themes.

Hans Zimmer did a fine job with those.

Those are good, but I don't think they have entered popular culture like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman, etc.........

Game of Thrones for TV easy....movies? Dunno. If you played the LotR music Ill bet most people wouldn't know what it was. Same for Harry Potter. Same for any Marvel movie. Nerds.

There has to be something more recent than Jurassic Park (1993) or Terminator 2 (1991) but those are the only two that come to mind.

Yeah, Jurassic Park came to my mind first as the last one, but then I thought of Harry Potter...... feel like Harry Potter has to at least be as known as Jurassic Park.......

I'm going to win this thread.

Inception

I was gonna post the sound last night.

But, it's just a sound.

Skyfall

Skyfall potentially a good one, maybe..... has the "unfair advantage" of being a "real song" that would be "played on the radio ".......

Man of Steel I think could be iconic theme if the movie was better... I do believe this. It's in the Inception mold though.

However true story... Man of Steel has aged well this past 2 years.... Seriously

Man of Steel was good.

The Hunger Games whistle thing?

Did I say "good"? No, I said "iconic".

I don't agree with this one...... sorry.....

Harry Potter motif?

The Dark Knight motif.

... oh, you mean that trumpet farting everybody used on their trailers, bringing us back to square one about it not being an iconic movie theme and more like an overused meme like the Wilhelm Scream?

Couldn't the same be said about just about ANY Bond theme (and I don't mean the truly iconic intro/suite from every film, I mean specific movie tunes like Live And Let Die)?

Skyfall had that added bonus of sounding like an homage to those old school themes, like Diamonds Are Forever, Goldfinger, or You Only Live Twice.

I might have one that I'll sum up in three words:

"Everything is Awesome"

It's pretty Iconic, I heard it and never saw one of the movies.

More Iconic than LOTR zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile

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"EVERYTHING IS GREAT WHEN YOU'RE PART OF A TEAM!!!"


... you earworm planting bastard.

Actually... yeah. That works, but it still isn't more recent than Pirates of the Carribean, so it is looking like 03 is about the cutoff point?

This is probably the correct answer.