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John Paesano

John Paesano

Composer · Born July 2, 1977 (49) · Detroit, Michigan, USA

BAFTA Award winner · Primetime Emmy nominee · 1 other major award body

John Paesano (born July 2, 1977) is an American composer, working primarily in film, television and video games. He is known for collaborating with director Wes Ball on the Maze Runner film series, as well as composing for the Marvel television series The Defenders and Daredevil. As a video game composer, he has contributed music to the acclaimed video game titles, Detroit Become Human, Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. For his work on Miles Morales, Paesano won the BAFTA for Best music in a video game.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
July 2, 1977 (49)
From
Detroit, Michigan, USA
Works as
Composer
Titles
41 on MovieCove · 45 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 23% in 30 days

What are John Paesano's films like?

Across their 31 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Animation10 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 48th percentile
: browse their Animation movies
Action6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 59th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Biography5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 66th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies
Comedy4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 37th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 41st percentile
: browse their Drama movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
30%
Self
28%
Morality
15%
Survival
14%
Society
9%
Power
4%
Family bonds11 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship10 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age7 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival6 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity6 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity5 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition4 titles, browse their movies with this themeDuty3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 28 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 16 · Serious 5 · Dark 7

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 13 · Stylized 14 · Heightened 1

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 9 · Charged 9 · Intense 10

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 14 · Shifting 12 · Whiplash 2

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 14 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 10

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 20 · Relentless 5

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 17 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 2

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 23 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
15
Joyful
12
Thrilling
12
Warm
10
Hopeful
10
Other
33

How their films linger

Feel-good17 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful16 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 5 with a twist

  • Happy14
  • Bittersweet11
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous5

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch John Paesano's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 32 of their 41 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (14).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for John Paesano's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

45 credits, 41 with a MovieCove page.

Career shape

A full career of 41 titles, 40 of them dated from 2002 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

$397M worldwide

Highest rated

Dragons: Race to the Edge (2015)

Midcredits 96th

By role

only this rolewith another role
Music41 of 41: 40 only music, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score57thOther crew1 of 41: 0 only other crew, 1 with another role

By decade

2000s5 · crew2010s20 · crew2020s15 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

a BAFTA Award from 4 major nominations, 2018–2025.

WinNomination
  1. 2025
    • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media
  2. 2024
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Music
  3. 2021
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Music
  4. 2018
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do John Paesano's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 54th percentile, the median of all 31; across their 28 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 47th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

47thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 28

Approval · how many liked their films

51stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 28

Reach · how many have seen their films

92ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 28

Midcredits score across 41 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up11
  • 50th to 74th14
  • 25th to 49th6
  • Below 25th10

Shape of the crowd

19 of their 41 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved5
  • Divisive1
  • Crowd Pleaser19
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed14

Most divisive · composer

Bibi (2023)

91st percentile spread · 51% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · composer

Invincible (2021)

Midcredits 99th · 95% liked

Reviewers score the sound and music 53/100 in their films, across 23 reviewed titles; fans 63, detractors 38. The element that speaks to their work as a composer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is John Paesano's work okay for kids?

Across up to 23 MovieCove titles with content scores, frightening / intense runs heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore17 titles23–68 · median 49 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity23 titles11–44 · median 23 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity18 titles12–66 · median 40 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs16 titles5–58 · median 28 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense16 titles35–71 · median 61 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does John Paesano work with?

People who share at least 2 of John Paesano's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Dan Zimmerman shares the most, 5.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers