Simon Franglen has spent much of his career shaping moments audiences already carry with them. As a songwriter and producer, his work has crossed genres and generations, from chart-topping hits to deeply personal film music. He co-wrote “My Heart Will Go On” with James Horner for “Titanic,” a song that became inseparable from the film’s emotional legacy, and has continued to move fluidly between popular music and cinematic storytelling ever since. That ability to write directly to the heart, while understanding how music functions inside narrative, has quietly defined his career.
That dual fluency would ultimately place Franglen at the center of one of the most ambitious franchises in modern cinema. After Horner’s passing, Franglen stepped into the role of composer for James Cameron’s “Avatar” films, assuming responsibility not just for continuing a sound, but for helping it evolve. It has been a commitment measured in years rather than schedules. “I started writing music for on-screen about seven years ago,” Franglen says, reflecting on the long arc of the work, “but the core of the film score I started two and a half years ago.”
“Avatar: The Way of Water” expanded Cameron’s universe both thematically and geographically, following Jake Sully and Neytiri as they flee familiar ground to protect their family among the reef-dwelling Metkayina clan. Its exploration of grief, displacement, and survival resonated across borders, propelling the film past $2 billion worldwide and reaffirming the franchise’s global reach. As Franglen notes later in the conversation, “Avatar makes 75 percent of its money globally,” a reminder that Pandora is a shared cinematic language far beyond the United States.
With “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” that emotional terrain darkens. The arrival of the Ash People reframes long-held assumptions about balance and harmony, introducing a worldview driven by destruction rather than coexistence. Cameron was clear about the shift early on. “I need this to have a new feel,” Franglen recalls being told. “It’s a darker film in a lot of ways with very difficult subject matters.” For the composer, that meant honoring the DNA of Pandora while allowing the music to confront something fundamentally new.
A defining element of Franglen’s work on “Avatar” has been its global musical perspective. A full orchestra provides the connective tissue expected of a Hollywood epic, but the soul of each clan is shaped through texture, rhythm, and vocal language drawn from cultures around the world. Bamboo, wood, chant, breath, and percussion become narrative tools rather than ornamentation. “Music is there to tell you how to feel, not what to think,” Franglen explains, underscoring his belief that emotion, not instruction, is the score’s true responsibility.
In conversation with Awards Focus, Franglen speaks candidly about the scale of composing nearly three hours of original music, the trust embedded in his collaboration with Cameron, and the challenge of writing themes that remain present without ever announcing themselves. “This isn’t a score where a suite was written and cut and pasted around the film,” he says. “Everything you hear was written for the specific moments you see on screen.”
Awards Focus: It’s lovely to meet you… The making of an “Avatar” movie is famously long. You’ve mentioned this soundtrack has been seven years in the making. Can you describe your process? How much of your early work is about establishing a sound identity versus reacting to specific scripts, storyboards, or scenes?
Simon Franglen: That may be the best question I’ve been asked full stop this year. This is something that Jim [Cameron] and I talked about literally at the beginning of this scoring period—seven years ago. I started writing music for on-screen about seven years ago, but the core of the film score I started two and a half years ago.
We had a discussion early on; I knew that we were working on “Avatar” 2 and 3 together. The idea was that for 3, he said, “I need this to have a new feel.” It’s a darker film in a lot of ways with very difficult subject matters, like the loss of a child and how Jake and Neytiri deal with that. He said, “Right, we want to approach this as being a fresh score rather than just a rehash.” There is the DNA of Pandora—of the Avatar scores—which means they share a DNA, but they sound different to each other. You couldn’t put an “Avatar” score on a “Star Wars” film, for instance.
We knew we had a shape and a color, but then it was about the fact that the intensity was so much more ramped up than the last one. Everything we think we know about Pandora changes when the Ash People turn up. We’ve always thought of it as everybody being in harmony with nature, and then we discover there’s a whole other clan who just want to burn the world down. That meant I had to give new colors and a whole new textural sound from that point onwards.
AF: In many major franchises, characters have signature melodies. I’ve noticed that in “Avatar,” it’s much less prominent. Is that deliberate?
Franglen: There are actually specific things I’m using for them, but they are less overt. Jim actually asked me on 2, “I need more themes, I need to be more thematic,” but they tend to be subtle. For instance, Jake and Neytiri have the “I See You” vibe, which is from the song in the first “Avatar.” There is a heroic Jake theme, and a family theme that gets used a lot.
This film has new themes I wrote specifically for “Fire and Ash.” There are themes for Payakan, for Katje, for the RDA, for Kiri, and for Lo’ak. But they’re not quite as overt as dum-dum-dum-dum. I’m probably being less in-your-face with the tune; they tend to be orchestrated to give you the themes in a way that is more subtle.
AF: There is a heavy emotional weight in this film, particularly regarding the loss of a child. Since it has been a few years since the last film, did you feel a greater responsibility to use the score to pull in that emotion and remind the audience of what has happened?
Franglen: I think that’s very true. In the opening scene, when we see Lo’ak and his dead brother flying together, Jim said, “I want it to be pure exhilaration and pure joy.” Then there comes a point when the twist happens and we realize he’s actually communing with a spirit. I had to make sure you felt that change. The way they described it to me was like a cold wind blew across the music. Music is there to tell you how to feel, not what to think. I’m meant to be playing that sense of emotional connection.
AF: You’ve spoken about wanting this music to inspire audiences globally. Given that different cultures view music differently, how do you build a soundscape that unifies the world of Pandora while appealing to a global audience?
Franglen: One thing that is important to the sense of a Hollywood blockbuster is that 100-piece orchestra. That acts as the glue that unifies the world musically. Even if I’m working on a film in China, the director still wants that big orchestral thing; it’s a requirement.
Then I can take colors from around the world to give different clans their own identities. For the Metkayina (the reef tribe), I moved all the percussion and rhythms to bamboo, clay, and wood—things you might find on the reef. Vocally, the sound for the Reef clan was based on a hybrid of Polynesian vocal sounds—those long tones used to sing across water. When we come to the Ash People, it became more of a chant. I looked at the Kecak tribe in Bali who do the “monkey chant” (chak-chak-chak). I liked that texture, so I took that percussive vocal texture and gave them lyrics in Na’vi.
AF: James Cameron is famously detailed and hands-on. How prescriptive is he regarding the music, and does he give you room to experiment?
Franglen: There are times when he’ll say, “I want exactly that,” but he’s great at allowing me room to try things out. I’m allowed to make mistakes. But there are times when I will give him things that are completely different to what he asked for. For the Ash People’s attack, I used Mongolian string instruments, the morin khuur, because I wanted a frenzy. I played it for him and he went, “That’s it, that’s the Ash.”
He’s open to new ideas. He will also come back to me months later and say, “You know what? There was something you wrote an hour earlier, I want to try that here.” He will literally cut it into his edit and show it to me, and almost invariably it’s better because he understands the rhythm of his film. Also, I only have to please him. On most films, you have directors, producers, and film companies all having opinions. On this, nobody has an opinion but Jim.
AF: This is a three-hour score of mostly original music. Can you describe the sheer magnitude of work required for this compared to a “normal” film?
Franglen: I don’t want to compare myself to my friends, but I’ve probably got the equivalent of four normal film scores worth of music there. There are 1900-plus pages of music I’ve written. It varies from a couple of instruments to a full orchestra with choirs and electronica. Jim doesn’t want a score that just plays in the background to give you a vibe; it has to be highly tailored to each section. This isn’t a score where a “suite” was written and then cut and pasted around the film. Everything you hear was written for the specific moments you see on screen. It is the heartbeat of the film.
AF: You mentioned using Dolby Atmos to immerse the audience. How does the 3D nature of the film change how you score it?
Franglen: It’s made a huge difference. Global acceptance of Dolby Atmos as a reference standard has settled into the bedrock of how we experience movies now. Jim generally uses 3D to draw you into the world rather than having things poke out at you. I use that to my advantage by giving more space to the sound effects and dialogue in the front, and then I think of the rest of the cinema as being mine. It gives a feeling that you are being taken into the world in a way we couldn’t guarantee in the past.
AF: Even with the massive creatures and battle scenes, the score never feels overpowering. How do you and the sound team balance those elements?
Franglen: I’m very lucky because Jim wants me on the dub stage. He had me there with my dubbing mixer while we were dubbing the film, rather than just having me come in at the end to give notes. It means we can be very careful about how we shape the music around the dialogue and sound effects. What you hear is the output from one man—Jim—and he decides how it shall be played.
AF: Switching gears to your songwriting, you co-wrote the Miley Cyrus song for this film. Was she always the intended singer?
Franglen: No. I had been roughing out some ideas early on, and Jim asked me, “What do you think about Miley Cyrus?” He had met her at a Disney Legends event. I think she’s great. I phoned up Andrew Wyatt and Mark Ronson and asked if she would be interested. Andrew texted back and said, “Yeah, she’s in.” They came to my studio, and I showed them the “We Dreamers” idea. I wanted the song to continue the feeling of “connection” once the film closes.
AF: Miley has a very distinct, soulful, even country-flecked voice. Did her specific style change the melody of the song once she was on board?
Franglen: By then I had handed over my stuff to Andrew and Mark. I had to go to New Zealand to continue working with Jim. They would send me things and I would do additional things at the end to sort out the shape of the sound so it fitted into the film. I’m very proud of it; she’s done a stupendous job.
AF: You’ve been in this world since 2009, and after James Horner passed away, you took the mantle. You’ve now written about 11 hours of music for this franchise. What does “Avatar” mean to you personally?
Franglen: It has been a challenge every day because you have to make it great, but it’s also an absolute joy. “Avatar” doesn’t look or feel like any other movie. In America, people don’t quite understand the impact. ”Avatar” makes 75% of its money globally. “The Way of Water” is the number one film of all time in Europe. It says that cinema is still able to present something unique. In a world where we watch things on seven-inch screens, it’s nice to have something you need to see on the biggest screen possible with a shared experience.
AF: For all you’ve accomplished, you seem to keep a relatively low profile. Is that by design?
Franglen: It has been deliberate. But about three weeks ago, my publicist and the people at Disney said, “You have no followers and you follow nobody on Instagram.” My son told me I had to do it. So, in the last couple of weeks, I’ve actually embraced Instagram and Twitter because I think it’s part of engaging with the people. I’ve quite enjoyed it; I may have to have a slightly higher profile now!
AF: Well, soak it in! People really enjoy your work. Congratulations on a wonderful score.
Franglen: It’s been very good to speak to you. Thank you.