X-Men ’97 Composers The Newton Brothers reveal how they approach an original project versus established franchise, upcoming soundtrack, more.
X-Men ’97 perfectly captures the feel of the original animated series which is laregely in part due to the incredible score and soundtrack. Andy and Taylor, also known as The Newton Brothers, are the brilliant minds behind the music of the series. They apprenticed under the one and only Hans Zimmer, and have also worked on major titles like the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie and The Fall of the House of Usher.
The Newton Brothers are both accomplished musicians and multi-instrumentalists who can play piano, guitar, bass, clarinet, flute, accordion, saxophone, harmonica, percussion, organ, kazoo and cello. They have been elevating feature films and television series with their scores for over a decade.
We sat down with X-Men ’97 Composers The Newton Brothers to discuss diving into the X-Men animated series for inspiration and getting to play in the world of Marvel. Andy and Taylor also discuss their appraoch to the fast pacing of the series and composing for an already established franchise. The two also tease surprises that are in store for fans with the upcoming X-Men ’97 soundtrack.
X-Men ’97 Composers The Newton Brothers On Their Approach to Composing for the Series, Upcoming Soundtrack Release, & More
Tessa Smith: You guys have worked on lot of incredible projects, but what does it feel like to be a part of Marvel history now?
Andy: It’s so fun. I mean, it feels it feels wrong, to be honest. Like, imposter syndrome is real. Like this isn’t really happening. We feel very lucky. I can’t even make it more colorful. That’s all I can say.
Taylor: Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s a dream. Both Andy and I grew up watching the original series. And then of course, Marvel movies. It’s just an honor to work on something like this because it’s a personal connection. And of course, just the size and scope of being involved with something that is so beloved, not just to us, but to the fans.
Andy: Yeah to be allowed in too, it’s already established. Everyone loves what it is. So to be allowed into this world with such an incredible team, both from the past and the current and present is just a it’s a dream.
Tessa Smith: Is there any pressure that comes along with that?
Taylor: Oh, no pressure. Not at all.
Andy: Yeah. Take his perfect piece of music and do a new version of it. But don’t screw up. Several million people are watching you, it’s like, oh boy. Taylor and I have talked about how first finding out we got the gig, there’s excitement that happens, and then somewhere about sixty seconds after that excitement is starting to come down and this sheer terror of like, Wait, now we have to actually do good on what we were hired to do. It’s terrifying.
Tessa Smith: How does your approach to something like X-Men, or Five Nights At Freddy’s, which is an already established franchise, differ from your approach to something that is completely original?
Taylor: That’s a great question. I don’t know how Andy feels but I think for me, when you’re watching something that inspires you, you immediately, it sort of translates into sounds and colors and music, and then you start to feel like, what would this be? And then all of a sudden it’s like a floodgate of ideas start to come. When it’s something that’s more set up, like X-Men, I think it’s more about, okay, cool. I have these original ideas, I want to honor this original music and tone and style. How do I bridge the two so that the creatives are happy and servicing the fans, and the fans are happy. There’s a lot to take in. But with Five Nights at Freddy’s too, there were a lot of games where people were huge fans of the games. And they were asking us, are you going to use game music? Is it gonna be approached like that is? At the end of the day, it’s don’t piss off the fans. That’s a common denominator.
Andy: Service the project, I think, from like 30,000 feet, right? Take your ego out and check it outside and leave it out there. And then just service the project. And if you want to have the ego in the room, then make an album and put out the album separately, because I think this comes more into like a team sport. Taylor and I bring a certain amount of experience to the table, but that’s only as good as it serves the project, and us following directions and following the roadmap from the past and the present. Doing our homework. Rewatching all of the old episodes and studying all of the old music and then taking our experience and trying to formulate what that means. Navigate the ups and downs of that.
Tessa Smith: One of my favorite things about X-Men ’97 is how go, go, go it is. It’s very action packed. How do you approach that because there isn’t a lot of downtime for a more subtle score.
Taylor: Yeah, I think that was the the fun part. The challenge of how do you transition from these amazing sequences to all of a sudden, oh, no, someone died? There’s this shift and that shift, it’s always some change. More than just shifting in terms of picture. It’s shifting in terms of tone, and style, and dramatics. It’s massive. There was a sequence in, I think, episode two or three, when there was a weird dance track that kept going over the sequence with Wolverine, and it’s just kept happening and happening. We would, in our mind sometimes, think, Well, I’m going to start a sequence here and it’s going to end here. But with a show like this, you really have to constantly be thinking about where did I come from? And where am I going? That’s the fun part.
Andy: I would say that that was probably the most difficult part of the show. The show is moving fast all the time. Even when the show settles down you feel kind of anxious, because you know something’s coming. It’s like, oh boy, we’re having a quiet moment, and there’s a little bit of dialogue, where are we about to go? What makes it a lot of fun is that you can’t — I was thinking about this the other day — you cannot watch this show and have your phone in your hand. It wouldn’t be possible. If I’m watching something my phone is upside down and off and I watch whatever it is. But I’m with friends and I see that most people are on their phones while they’re watching TV shows or sometimes movies. It’s kind of a bummer. With this you cannot. If you check a text for seven seconds, you’ve just missed a whole story plotpoint. Like, you’re done. You’re toast. I feel like there should be something in the sky that zaps you. Like, that’s it. Like a video game. Game over. Out of quarters.
Tessa Smith: Speaking of video games, X-Men ’97 episode 4 is heavily set in the Mojoverse and inside a video game. How fun was it to get to play with teh arcade themes as well?
Taylor: So much fun. Yeah. Andy and I spent a lot a lot of time on that, crafting all these different old synthesizers and running through eight bit processors. It was a blast, especially considering that would never be requested in any project ever. So it made it very unique.
Andy: Yeah, there’s one sound that that I’ve saved as a favorite on one of my keyboards over here, and it’s just like a spiraling and in that episode, it was like, Oh, I can use that sound. Let’s use that. And it works. It’s in the show. It’s fun to be able to use things like that. It was a lot of fun.
Tessa Smith: A lot of fans have been calling for a soundtrack / score release, myself incuded.
Andy: It’s definitely coming. I think there will be a surprise to it coming too. So more of that to come. We’ll make sure that have all the things.
X-MEN ‘97 is now streaming exclusively on Disney+, with new episodes releasing every Wednesday.
Learn more about The Newton Brothers.
NEXT: X-Men ’97 Review
About X-Men ’97
Marvel Animation’s X-Men’97 revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.
X-MEN ‘97 is streaming exclusively on Disney+, with new episodes every Wednesday.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.