Infinity War Directors Explain Why The Avengers Theme Music Isn’t Used Much

The MCU isn’t exactly renowned for its memorable musical scores, with most of the franchise’s original pieces having a tendency to fade into the background of the action in a way that’s rarely distracting but unlikely to leave much of an impression. One exception, however, would be the Avengers theme music, which was composed for the original 2012 film and continued to rouse emotions in the recent Infinity War – whenever directors Anthony and Joe Russo actually choose to use it, that is.

Indeed, the theme music composed by Alan Silvestri is employed quite thriftily throughout the pic, saved for particularly triumphant moments like Thor’s climactic arrival in Wakanda. Speaking on the commentary track for the new Infinity War home video release, Anthony Russo explains how this stirring piece was incorporated into such pivotal sections to draw upon the memories and emotions that viewers have come to associate with it over the years.

“We should mention Alan Silvestri’s theme here. It’s very Pavlovian for many of us in terms of the emotional reaction we get from it.”

Anthony’s brother Joe, however, acknowledges that the theme music holds, at most, a subtle presence in much of the movie.

“I think it’s without question the most emotional piece of music that exists. It’s used very sparingly in this movie for two very big moments. One here and one with Thor. It’s hinted at in other places but doesn’t get into its full-blown presentation.”

Joe then expanded on this idea further, recalling how they’d always felt that the theme music should be saved for a precious few moments that earned it best.

“Then we knew we needed a big piece of the score for Thor so, we thought, early on, when we’re conceiving the film it was very important to us, as directors, to identify two or three key moments where that theme could come in. As I said I think it’s the best thing that we have for music in the Marvel Universe just for recognizably and connection to the audience.”

This certainly seems like a reasonable approach for filmmakers looking to make use of this theme music and the feelings it brings to the fore without relying too heavily on the piece to wring some emotion out of the audience. At the same time, given the music’s triumphant tone, don’t be too surprised if it’s used a little more prominently in next year’s Avengers 4, when the fight against Thanos will be resolved once and for all.

Until then, you can always check out Avengers: Infinity War again, which is out now on Digital HD and coming to 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray and DVD on August 14th.