The musical accompaniment is as important in movies and series as everything that happens in front of the camera. In recent years, one man has received much attention and awards, one who could easily be called the new Hans Zimmer or John Williams.
Who is it about? Those who have watched the Oscars in recent years will have seen the name Ludwig Göransson a few times during the music awards. The 42-year-old composer has worked on many big films, notably on The Odyssey by director Christopher Nolan.
He composed soundtracks for many big films, but he got his start in an absurd comedy series.
A series with many possibilities
How did Ludwig Göransson’s career develop? While he had worked on smaller short films before, one of his first big series was the comedy series Community (2009-2015). Throughout the 6 seasons, he provided the series with many musical pieces.
Not a very uncreative job, considering that the series often parodies various pop culture genres. As a composer, this probably gave him some possibilities to express his creativity. In the series, he also worked with actor Donald Glover, who plays Troy. The two began a collaboration. Göransson produced the first album that Donald Glover released under his rapper pseudonym Childish Gambino. They also collaborated on later projects of the rapper.
While working on Community, he also composed for several short films, but also for more well-known movies like We’re the Millers or series like New Girl (2011-2018). In the film sector, he also began collaborating with an old friend in 2013: Ryan Coogler.
In 2009 he composed music for the short film Locks, and in 2013 for Coogler’s first major feature film, Fruitvale Station. This collaboration continued. The two worked together on the boxing film Creed (2015), the two Black Panther
films (2018 and 2022), and the movie Blood & Sinners, set to release in 2025.
For Göransson, this paid off as well, because at the 2019 Oscars he received the award for Best Original Score for Black Panther. Here you can listen to one of the songs:
After further films like Venom and Creed 2, a significant point in his career was the music for the series The Mandalorian (2019-2023) and the collaboration with Christopher Nolan in Tenet (2020). That was just the beginning for the two. In 2023, Göransson composed the music for the film Oppenheimer. For that, the composer received his next Oscar at the 2024 awards for Best Original Score
.
However, he didn’t have to wait long for his 3rd. In 2025, he was awarded again for his film score, this time for the film Blood & Sinners, once again a film by Ryan Coogler.
It seems that this man also does not take a real break. In 2026 alone, he worked on 2 big films. He composed music for the film The Mandalorian and Grogu, and Nolan turned to him again, this time for The Odyssey. A nomination for that is not unlikely. A piece from this film can be heard here:
On par with Hans Zimmer and John Williams
What makes Ludwig Göransson so good? When thinking of film music, people often think of Hans Zimmer or John Williams. The two continue to shape cinema today, with Hans Zimmer for example with Gladiator (2000) or Dune (2021) and John Williams for instance with Star Wars (1977) or Jaws (1975). But Göransson could reach that status.
Currently, Göransson, thanks to his work with Nolan, is among the greatest composers in the film industry, and what is special about him is the range of his styles. He doesn’t just rely on epic orchestral soundtracks. Each time, it sounds different, fitting the film.
For Blood & Sinners and Black Panther he worked with Hip-Hop as a genre. In The Mandalorian and Grogu he experimented with the iconic songs from the series, and in Oppenheimer he underscores the scientist’s thirst for knowledge, but also the tragedy and power of the atomic bomb.
His effort is impressive and is also evident in The Odyssey. To create a unique sound, Göransson researched ancient Greek instruments, such as the wind instrument Aulos. There is no surviving reed from that time, which is why he collaborated with experts to make it usable. They also reconstructed a Greek lyra, an ancient plucked instrument (Source: YouTube).
While it is hard to predict whether he will achieve a legacy like Zimmer and Williams, one can assume that if it continues this way, it might happen. With his recent works, he has certainly created exceptional film soundtracks that enhance the movies significantly.
What do you think of his music? Do you notice it or do you not pay attention to it while watching? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments. A scene in The Odyssey has been haunting Nolan for a long time: “20 years in my mind”: Christopher Nolan had to fight for a long time to bring a legendary scene to the big screen
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