Pinar Toprak has been announced to score Captain Marvel, marking a historic moment for female film composers.
June 2018 marks a historic moment in film history: Pinar Toprak was announced as the music composer for upcoming Marvel film, Captain Marvel.
When you think of film composers, who do you think of? Probably male composers such as Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Ennio Morricone and Danny Elfman. But what about female film composers? Can you think of any names at all? Rachel Portman is arguably the most well-known female film composer and yet she is relatively unknown outside the film industry.
Pinar Toprak has the opportunity to change this gender-bias in the film music industry. Being signed for such a high-profile film has the potential to spark a much-needed revolution. She is not only the first woman to score a major comic-book film, but Captain Marvel has the potential to become the highest-grossing female-scored film, in turn raising the profile of women as composers.
Pinar Toprak is a Turkish–American composer and was the first woman to win International Film Music Critics Association Awards for her scores for The Lightkeepers and The Wind Gods. Born in Istanbul, she studied Music at the Istanbul State Conservatory and later received a Bachelor’s degree in Film Scoring at Berklee College of Music. She went on to work at Remote Control Productions under Hans Zimmer.
Continuing the innovative work of Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel stars the incredible Brie Larson as the female lead and is directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Due for release next March, Captain Marvel will achieve female representation where Wonder Woman missed.
Let’s hope a major film such as Captain Marvel hiring a female composer is in fact the beginning of a film music revolution.