Legendary Academy Award-winning composer, Marvel director, and comic book writer Michael Giacchino is performing live in San Diego, California, ahead of San Diego Comic-Con. SD residents, as well as anyone arriving for the convention early, can purchase tickets (starting at $30) for “Exotic Themes for the Silver Screen,” a special celebration of Giacchino’s iconic musical scores, taking place at UC San Diego‘s Epstein Family Amphitheatre on July 22, 2025, at 7:30 p.m.
Considered one of the most versatile and thematic composers of the 21st century, Giacchino has built a reputation for creating memorable, emotionally resonant scores across various media. His career highlights include LOST (which won an Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition), Ratatouille (which won the Academy Award for Best Original Score), Up (which won an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Grammy), The Batman, the Star Trek reboot films, the Jurassic World series, and Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man trilogy. Notably, Giacchino was one of the first composers to record a video game score with a full orchestra on the DreamWorks adaptation of the 1997 movie, The Lost World: Jurassic Park. In recent years, Giacchino has also stepped into directing, most notably Werewolf by Night, a Marvel Studios Special Presentation on Disney+, which he directed and scored.
Hosted by UCSD, Exotic Themes for the Silver Screen is a live event where Giacchino will revisit (and rearrange) themes he has composed over the past 30 years for video games, television, and film. All are presented in the lounge style Exotica, a kitschy musical style from the 1950s and 1960s named after Martin Denny‘s 1957 album, which is sometimes criticized for its “colonialist worldview,” according to Far Out Magazine.
You can purchase your tickets here.
In addition, Mutant is also offering a limited-edition (300 copies worldwide) event-exclusive vinyl of Exotic Themes for the Silver Screen Vol. 2, which features many of Giacchino’s 2012 to 2022 musical compositions, including Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Inside Out, Coco, Jojo Rabbit, The Batman, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, as well as the the themes from War for the Planet of the Apes and Jurassic World and two selections taken from his directorial debut Werewolf By Night. Plus, those who purchase this special album will receive a secret 7-inch vinyl that’s only available to live show attendees.
“We are thrilled to continue exploring Michael’s storied career with this incredible collection of some of his most beloved themes reworked for warm summer nights with a cocktail (or mocktail) in hand,” says Mutant co-founder Spencer Hickman about the album. “Michael is a rare composer that is comfortable with superheroes, horror, action, or intimate drama. He always manages to create incredibly beautiful earworms that have been further highlighted by these stripped-back downtempo versions of his award-winning themes.”
But that’s not all! On July 23, 2025, fans are invited to an intimate conversation with Giacchino and Pete Docter, Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer and the creative mind behind films like Inside Out, Monsters, Inc., and Soul. As collaborators on beloved movies such as Up, Giacchino and Docter will share behind-the-scenes stories, creative insights, and reflections on Docter’s impactful work on some of Pixar’s most iconic films.
You can purchase tickets here to experience this one-of-a-kind conversation up close and personal. Ticket prices range from $25 to $60, with limited free tickets for UCSD students.
Stay tuned to The Beat for more coverage from SDCC ’25.
