John Paesano joins the world of Pandora to score Avatar: From the Ashes, collaborating with Ubisoft, Lightstorm, and Disney to expand the musical identity of the franchise while honoring its established legacy.
In this interview with We Are Movie Geeks, composer John Paesano discusses his approach to scoring Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, blending a bold new musical identity with reverence for the franchise’s legacy. He reflects on honoring Jerry Goldsmith’s iconic themes while forging a sound that supports the film’s emotional scope and epic scale.
Music from Marvel’s Spider-Man took center stage at the Hollywood Bowl, performed live in concert as part of a major celebration of video game music.
The performance marked a moment where game scores fully claimed their place on one of the world’s most iconic stages. Today, it stands as a reminder of how far the medium has come—and a glimpse of where live game music performances are headed next.
Composer John Paesano is currently scoring The Boroughs, a new Netflix series, recording with orchestra at Vienna’s renowned Synchron Stage. Drawing inspiration from the classic orchestral film scores of the 1980s and 1990s, the music blends sweeping symphonic writing with intimate, character-driven moments, reflecting the series’ sense of mystery, history, and emotional depth while grounding it in a modern, cinematic voice.
Created and showrun by Emmy Award winners Will Matthews and Jeff Addis, with The Duffer Brothers serving as executive producers, the series places a strong emphasis on atmosphere and long-form storytelling. Themes are allowed to evolve organically over the course of the series, revealing new emotional colors as the narrative unfolds. The result is a score that feels timeless yet forward-looking, honoring the language of traditional film music while expanding it to serve a contemporary dramatic framework.
A spotlight on select soundtracks, highlighting key projects and musical worlds created across film, television, and interactive storytelling.
Huge thanks to @avatarfrontiers, @_lightstorm.entertainment, and Disney for creating such a rich world to explore. Collaborating with the team at Ubisoft was a highlight of the process, especially @aaalexriviere and @simonlandryms, whose support, trust, and musical insight made the experience genuinely fun and rewarding.
Music from Marvel’s Spider‑Man 2 has been featured as part of PlayStation: The Concert, an international live show celebrating PlayStation’s music catalogue. Performed by live orchestra alongside synchronized visuals, the concert brings themes from the Spider-Man universe to audiences in a concert-hall setting, highlighting the growing presence of video game scores on the live stage.
Recording Diary of a Wimpy Kid at Newman Stage highlights the continued importance of orchestral music in animated storytelling. Live orchestra remains a defining element of animation, providing rhythmic precision, emotional clarity, and character-driven nuance that supports both comedy and heart.
The project also reflects a longstanding creative partnership with Disney. From early studio work on Ice Age: A Christmas Special to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the collaboration now spans nearly eight animated projects. That continuity has fostered a shared musical language and a clear understanding of how orchestral scoring enhances animated narratives.
At the Emmy Awards red carpet, the creative team behind Marvel’s Defenders reflected on the honor of the series’ Emmy nomination. The moment marked a celebration of the show’s collaborative spirit and its impact within the Marvel television universe.
Recorded across four scoring stages worldwide, Avatar: From the Ashes was assembled piece by piece into a unified score. Performances from multiple locations were shaped into a single musical voice, blending scale, texture, and emotion into one cohesive soundtrack.
For Avengers Campus at Disneyland Resort, John Paesano composed an original score that unifies the Marvel universe into an immersive musical experience. Blending iconic themes with new material, the music supports the scale, energy, and heroism of the land, bringing Marvel’s sound world to life in a shared space.
At the Grammy Awards red carpet, John Paesano spoke about his nomination for Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media (Spider-Man 2) while supporting MusicCares relief efforts following the Los Angeles fires. He shared hope that the year’s nominated work can offer audiences a moment of escape and comfort through great art.
For Tesla, the score uses modern classical techniques to directly reflect the conflict at the heart of the story. Shifting meters and retrograde musical motion were built into the music to mirror the push and pull of AC versus DC, translating scientific rivalry into sound and giving the score a sense of constant tension and forward momentum.
Los Angeles, CA — Composer John Paesano has won a BAFTA Award for his score to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, recognizing the music’s contribution to the game’s emotional impact and storytelling.
Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the award honors excellence in game music and highlights the score’s blend of orchestral writing, contemporary textures, and cultural influences that reflect Miles Morales’ identity and world. The music plays a central role in shaping the game’s tone, supporting both intimate character moments and large-scale action.
The BAFTA win marks a significant milestone in Paesano’s continued collaboration with Insomniac Games and Sony Interactive Entertainment, and underscores the growing recognition of video game music within the broader creative and awards community.
For those in love with dystopian YA, rejoice! The Maze Runner trilogy is now streaming on Netflix. The franchise tells the tale of a young scientist and the group of misfits among whom he mysteriously wakes up — all memories wiped but their names.
For Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, the score returned to AIR Lyndhurst Hall to capture the next chapter of Spider-Man’s musical world. Recording in the iconic hall allowed the music to expand in scale and emotion, building on the series’ established identity while pushing the sound forward for a bigger, bolder sequel.
This episode of The Big Score goes behind the scenes of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, exploring how the score was crafted from concept to final recording. The feature examines the balance of honoring the franchise’s musical legacy while pushing the sound forward into a new era, revealing how tradition and innovation came together to shape the next chapter of Planet of the Apes.
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