Verbinski asked Hans Zimmer, with whom he had worked on The Ring, to step in. Zimmer declined to do the bulk of the composing, as he was busy scoring The Last Samurai, a project during which he claimed he had promised not to take any other assignments.
Verbinski asked Hans Zimmer, who had previously worked with him on "The Ring," to take over composing for this film. However, Zimmer declined the offer because he was already committed to scoring "The Last Samurai" and had promised not to work on any other projects during that time.