playback notes | echoes from tomorrow
This edit was about bringing Superman back to his roots. After years of seeing the character drift between extremes, either too cynical or too saintly, I wanted to restore that balance of warmth and humanity that makes him timeless. The goal was to remind us why he matters.
This version focuses less on spectacle and more on heart. The movie already had a strong foundation, but I felt some of its humor and pacing softened the emotional weight of Clark’s story. By trimming the comedy and slowing the rhythm in key places, the humanity underneath could finally breathe.
Superman, to me, isn’t defined by how many people he saves. It’s how he keeps believing in them, even when he can’t save everyone. That quiet perseverance is his greatest power. I wanted that to pulse through every decision, from the dialogue to the color grading to the score.
Each “Week” card became more than just a stylistic divider. It turned into a heartbeat.
The Pa Kent speech became the spine of the movie. It’s the emotional seed that grows into Clark’s final monologue. It’s more than just advice from a father; it’s a reflection of everything Superman stands for: compassion, restraint, and faith in others.
If Crossroads was about grief and letting go, and Gotham's Riddle was about obsession and identity, then Son of Tomorrow is about empathy: the choice to believe in people even when the world makes it hard to.
Superman has always been a mirror for what we could be at our best. With this cut, I just wanted to clear that mirror a little and bring this wonderful, enigmatic hero back to his roots: less boring, more relatable.
buried under noise | technical breakdown of bringing the boy scout home
The technical goal of Son of Tomorrow was simple on paper: strip away the noise and rebuild the tone. In practice, it became one of the most intricate reworks I’ve done. Every line of dialogue was tested for whether it served emotion or distraction.
The structure leaned into the film’s “Week” format. Each title card was built from scratch, matched to the evolving tone of Clark’s journey. Color grading was handled scene by scene rather than globally; warmer tones across daylight sequences, cooler under fortress lighting, but always keeping a clean modern contrast. The blues were lowered, skin tones lifted, and shadows eased for natural warmth.
Several scenes were rescored to bring emotional consistency. Where the original leaned on quick humor or tempo jumps, the new pacing relies on rhythm. Some other movie soundtracks felt like they were meant for this movie.
ADR became a key tool again, but used sparingly. The Pa Kent speech, Lois’s segments, and Lex’s exposition were all partially rewritten and synced manually. Every line was cut with intention to amplify subtext. Lipsync tools like Sync.so made it possible to refine timing without rebuilding full shots.
Some shots required compositional repair: new B-rolls for city transitions, restructured lighting during the Kaiju sequence, and re-ordered narrative beats between scenes to fix tonal whiplash. A few seconds of AI-generated footage were used only to fill unavoidable visual gaps, mostly transitions and brief recontextualized shots.
Each rescoring pass, every temperature adjustment, every trim was part of a single focus: bringing sincerity back. The film had a pulse buried under noise; the challenge was tuning it until the heartbeat felt human again. That’s how you bring the boy scout home.
soundtrack | the sound of hope
When the Lights Come On | Idles
Used when The Hammer makes his way back to Lex Luthor, and scenes of LuthorCorp Tower.
Inch of Dust (Instrumental) | Future Islands
Used in the first few minutes of Lois and Clark’s apartment scene in the kitchen.
The Game Has Changed | Daft Punk (Tron: Legacy OST)
Used to score the Night to Day time-lapse as the Kaiju is spotted around the city.
Superman & Lois Title Card Song | Blake Neely (Superman & Lois OST)
Used as Superman flies to the Fortress after the message is revealed.
Keepin' The Faith (Just a Touch Mix) | De La Soul
Used during the fight between Mr. Terrific and the Lex Raptors.
Three Hops from Anyone | Craig Armstrong (Snowden OST)
Used to score the redone Pa Kent speech.
Enter Sandman | Metallica
Used in the Justice Gang fight against the Boravian army.
Superman 2 Theme | Ken Thorn
A cover/variation of the intro used to score the bridge rescue scene and Superman's speech to Lex.
Look Up (Slowed & Reverb) | Superman 2025
A slowed version is played as Superman and Lex have the final face-off.
Inch of Dust (Chorus) | Future Islands
Used to score the final scene between Lois and Clark.
Reunion (Mylo Mix) | M83
Used during the final Superman scenes.