Matthew Margeson

Matthew Margeson (born June 9, 1980) is an American composer, musician, and arranger specializing in scores for films, television series, and video games, particularly in the action, adventure, and biographical genres.^[1][2] Margeson began his professional career as an assistant to prominent composers at Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Productions in Los Angeles, where he worked as a technical score advisor, arranger, and synthesizer programmer on projects including X-Men: First Class (2011) and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011).^[2] His debut feature film scores arrived in 2010 with Skyline and Burning Palms, followed by early television and video game contributions such as the animated series Transformers Prime (2011) and the PlayStation Move title Carnival Island (2011).^[2][3] He gained widespread recognition through collaborations with composer Henry Jackman, co-scoring the superhero comedy Kick-Ass 2 (2013) and the Kingsman spy action franchise, including Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), and The King's Man (2021).^[3] Other notable works include Eddie the Eagle (2016), and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) with Mike Higham.^[2] Transitioning to solo compositions, Margeson delivered the horror-thriller score for Truth or Dare (2018), the biographical musical Rocketman (2019)—which featured his original cues alongside reimagined Elton John songs—and the crime drama Buffaloed (2020).^[3][4] In recent years, he has expanded into family-oriented and streaming projects, scoring the Netflix adventure A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting (2020), the musical family film Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022), and the Hulu limited series Pam & Tommy (2022), marking his debut in episodic television scoring.^[5][6] As of 2025, Margeson continues to work in animation, contributing scores to Disney Junior series such as Iron Man and His Awesome Friends, Young Jedi Adventures, and RoboForce: The Animated Series.^[3]

Early life and education

Early life

Matthew Margeson was born on June 9, 1980, in Brick, New Jersey.^[3] He was raised in New Jersey, where his early exposure to music came through family outings, including a trip to his first Broadway musical at age 8, which introduced him to the excitement of a live orchestra.^[7] Margeson began piano lessons around age 5 and soon started experimenting on an old family organ.^[8] As a child, he participated in musical theater productions and school band activities, eventually directing small pit orchestras for regional community theater groups as his skills developed.^[9] During high school, he worked at a local video rental store, where he watched numerous films daily and began paying close attention to their musical scores.^[10] His informal musical experiences were shaped by a fascination with film music, particularly John Williams' scores for Star Wars, which he first encountered as a child and which ignited his passion for combining storytelling with orchestral elements.^[10] These early interests in film scores and theater laid the groundwork for his formal training at Berklee College of Music.^[7]

Education

Matthew Margeson attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he pursued a dual major in film scoring and composition.^[11][7] During his studies, Margeson focused on score analysis and techniques in film scoring, as well as instruments and techniques in composition.^[11][7] He graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Music (B.M.) degree, equipping him with a strong foundation for his subsequent career in scoring.^[12][13] Following graduation, Margeson relocated to Los Angeles to pursue opportunities in the film industry.^[11]

Career

Early career and Remote Control Productions

After graduating from Berklee College of Music, Margeson relocated to Los Angeles at the age of 22 or 23 to pursue a career in film scoring, driving cross-country with his belongings packed into a truck.^[11] Upon arrival, he secured an unpaid internship at Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Productions in Santa Monica through a Craigslist advertisement, where he initially handled studio maintenance, technical support, and equipment setup for composers including Klaus Badelt, Henry Jackman, and Jim Dooley.^[11] His early roles included serving as an assistant composer on the 2004 film Catwoman, directed by Pitof, where he supported Klaus Badelt in scoring sessions (uncredited).^[14] In subsequent early projects, Margeson continued as an assistant, contributing to scores for films such as Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King (2004) and Constantine (2005), both under Badelt, as well as assisting Jim Dooley on additional works; these roles honed his technical skills in orchestration, arrangement, and session management.^[15][16] Margeson maintains an ongoing affiliation as a member of Remote Control Productions.

Collaborations and breakthrough projects

Margeson's frequent collaborations with composer Henry Jackman began around 2013, building on their earlier work together at Remote Control Productions where Margeson had contributed additional music to projects like X-Men: First Class (2011).^[9][17] Their partnership marked a significant step in Margeson's career, allowing him to co-lead scores for high-profile action films directed by Matthew Vaughn.^[18] A key early breakthrough came with the co-composition of Kick-Ass 2 (2013), where Margeson and Jackman shared the workload to craft a score blending symphonic elements with rock influences, capturing the film's irreverent superhero tone.^[9][19] This project elevated Margeson's profile, showcasing his ability to handle fast-paced action cues alongside Jackman's established style.^[20] The duo's collaboration reached new heights with Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), where they developed a distinctive sound evoking classic British spy thrillers through brass-heavy action sequences and lush strings, inspired by composers like John Barry.^[21] They incorporated unconventional elements, such as distorted guitars and sound design mimicking telephone dials for the villain's theme, to match the film's over-the-top humor and violence.^[9] This score not only reinforced their creative synergy but also became a franchise cornerstone.^[17] Margeson and Jackman continued evolving the Kingsman sound in Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), expanding the orchestral palette with themes for new characters like the American agents while retaining the bold brass motifs.^[22] For the prequel The King's Man (2021), Margeson shifted to co-composing with Dominic Lewis—another Remote Control alum who had assisted Jackman—to deliver a more period-appropriate score with sweeping, emotional strings and martial percussion, adapting the franchise's energetic style to World War I-era intrigue.^[23][24]

Independent scoring and recent developments

Margeson's transition to independent scoring began with his debut as lead composer on the 2010 science fiction film Skyline, marking his first full studio feature score and earning a nomination for the BSOSPIRIT Revelation Composer Award. This project showcased his ability to craft tense, atmospheric soundscapes blending electronic and orchestral elements, establishing him as a capable solo artist beyond collaborative roles.^[25] In biographical cinema, Margeson took on prominent lead composer duties for the 2019 Elton John biopic Rocketman, where he integrated original compositions with new arrangements of John's iconic songs, performed by Taron Egerton, to underscore the film's emotional narrative arc. His score balanced period-appropriate rock influences with orchestral swells, contributing to the film's critical acclaim and his ASCAP Top Box Office Film Score award. This work highlighted his maturation in weaving licensed music with bespoke cues, a skill honed through earlier partnerships but now executed independently.^[4][26] Post-2020, Margeson expanded into family-oriented and animated content, reflecting a stylistic evolution toward lighter, adventurous tones while maintaining his signature hybrid orchestration. He composed the scores for Disney Junior's Alice's Wonderland Bakery (2022), infusing whimsical, baking-themed motifs into the Alice in Wonderland-inspired series, and Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures (2023–present), where his music introduces younger audiences to the High Republic era with uplifting, exploratory themes that earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for an Animated Program (2023 Children's & Family Emmy Awards). These projects demonstrate his versatility in accessible, narrative-driven scoring for animation.^[27][10][28] Recent developments include lead scoring for the comedy series Bupkis (2023) on Peacock, featuring a main title theme that captures its irreverent humor through punchy, contemporary rhythms, and the family film Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022), where his score enhances the musical elements with playful, jazz-inflected cues. He also contributed to the score for the animated series RoboForce: The Animated Series (2025), which premiered on Tubi in April 2025, blending sci-fi action with thematic music co-composed with Andrew Brick Johnson.^[29] Margeson scored Disney Junior's Marvel's Iron Man and His Awesome Friends (2025), which premiered in August 2025, continuing his foray into superhero animation for young viewers. These endeavors illustrate his ongoing growth, blending action-adventure roots with broader media applications, often while maintaining loose affiliations with Remote Control Productions for select orchestral resources.^[30][28]

Notable compositions

Film scores

Margeson's entry into feature film scoring came with the 2010 science fiction thriller Skyline, where he composed the original score, blending electronic and orchestral elements to heighten the film's alien invasion tension. His collaboration with composer Henry Jackman marked a significant breakthrough on the Kingsman franchise, starting with Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), where they co-composed a hybrid score combining full orchestral arrangements with electronic pulses to modernize classic spy themes and underscore the film's satirical action sequences.^[17] This approach continued in Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), incorporating country-western influences like banjos and fiddles in cues such as "Kingsman Hoedown" to match the film's global adventure tone, while maintaining dynamic orchestral action writing.^[31] In 2016, Margeson provided the score for the biographical sports comedy Eddie the Eagle, adopting a retro period style suited to the 1980s setting, featuring warm acoustic piano, soft strings, and uplifting motifs to evoke the protagonist's underdog spirit and humanity.^[32] That same year, he co-composed the score for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children with Mike Higham, enhancing the fantastical elements with orchestral textures.^[33] Margeson's work on the horror film Truth or Dare (2018) utilized tense, suspenseful orchestration to amplify the supernatural game's psychological dread, marking one of his solo efforts in the genre. For the 2019 Elton John biopic Rocketman, Margeson crafted an original score that seamlessly integrated with rearranged versions of John's hits, using subtle orchestral bridges to support the musical sequences and emotional narrative without overpowering the songs.^[34] He followed this with the crime comedy Buffaloed (2020), employing punchy, rhythmic scoring to drive the film's fast-paced Buffalo underbelly story. Concluding the Kingsman trilogy, Margeson co-composed The King's Man (2021) with Dominic Lewis, shifting to a classical orchestral palette with grand, noble themes and no modern synths or guitars, evoking epic historical scope through sweeping melodies and traditional forces.^[35] In 2022, he scored the family musical Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, blending whimsical orchestral elements with contemporary flair to suit the live-action/animated hybrid.

Television scores

Matthew Margeson's television scoring career began with significant contributions to the animated series Transformers: Prime (2010–2013), where he served as additional music arranger and composer alongside Brian Tyler for 21 episodes starting from season one, episode 15 ("Out of the Past").^[36] His involvement included developing and adapting themes to support the show's high-stakes action sequences and character arcs, ensuring musical motifs evolved with the narrative while maintaining the epic, orchestral style characteristic of the franchise. This work highlighted the challenges of episodic television, where composers must balance recurring themes across installments to foster continuity without overwhelming the dialogue-driven storytelling.^[37] In 2016–2017, Margeson composed the score for the TBS comedy series Wrecked, contributing music to 17 episodes across two seasons. Drawing briefly from his time at Remote Control Productions, he approached the scoring with a focus on serious action cues to underpin the humor, avoiding overt comedic motifs that might compete with the performers' timing. The relentless production schedule demanded rapid composition—often 15 to 40 minutes of music per week—relying on instinctual decisions and minimal revisions to meet deadlines, a stark contrast to the more deliberate pace of feature films.^[38] Margeson's recent animated television work includes serving as composer for Disney Junior's Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures (2023–present), where he crafted accessible yet emotionally resonant scores tailored for young audiences aged 3 to 6.^[39] For this series, he developed character-specific themes, such as variations for protagonist Kai Brightstar that incorporated romantic and adventurous elements tied to recurring motifs like his companion droid, while ensuring thematic consistency through biweekly collaborations with the creative team to align music with seasonal arcs. His techniques emphasized software-based orchestration for efficiency, supplemented by live recordings for key sequences like the main title, and careful integration with sound effects to preserve narrative clarity across episodes. This effort earned him a 2023 Children's & Family Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for an Animated Program.^[40][10] Margeson has continued scoring animated series for younger audiences, including the Disney Junior Marvel series Iron Man and His Awesome Friends (2025–present) and the action-adventure RoboForce: The Animated Series (2024–present).^[28][29]

Video game scores

Matthew Margeson's entry into video game composition began with co-composing the score for Carnival Island (2011), a PlayStation Move-based party game, alongside Mike Reagan, blending whimsical and energetic motifs to match the game's carnival-themed minigames.^[41] He followed this with the original music for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (2012), a multiplayer fighting game featuring Sony characters, where his orchestral arrangements provided high-energy battle themes that underscored intense crossover combat sequences.^[42] Margeson's most prominent video game credit is the cinematic score for Knack (2013), co-composed with Jim Dooley, another Remote Control Productions collaborator; the score incorporates dynamic action themes with epic swells during combat and exploration, enhancing the game's beat 'em up platforming mechanics on the PlayStation 4.^[43][44] Additional contributions include arrangements and supplementary music for LEGO Universe (2010), supporting the massively multiplayer online game's adventurous, block-building world through layered orchestral elements.^[45] Video game scoring demands adaptive techniques, such as layering musical cues that respond to player actions for seamless interactivity, a challenge Margeson addressed in his dynamic compositions for titles like Knack to align music with variable gameplay outcomes.^[46] Post-2013, Margeson's video game work evolved toward broader interactive media, building on his PlayStation-era experience with next-generation platforms while maintaining ties to Remote Control alumni in collaborative projects.^[10]

Awards and nominations

Matthew Margeson has received various awards and nominations for his compositional work in film, television, and animation. The following table lists his major recognitions as of November 2025.^[47]