Tyler Bates was brought in to compose the score for 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still after Derrickson heard his work on The Devil's Rejects and Slither. Bates decided that instead of imitating the original score by Bernard Herrmann he would try and convey the message of the new film, which was different, and assumed that most people would not even realize it was a remake. He said: ^{[citation needed]}

People revere an original property and feel that it's sacred, but frankly, there's a good story to be retold, as it applies to the climate of the world now. If that's something beyond the scope of a person's ability to take in, on a new level, without necessarily using the original as a criterion for whether or not they're going to enjoy it, then they probably shouldn't bother themselves with it.

The origins for the sound on the new score came from Bates attending the filming of a few scenes with Reeves and Smith. When he got back to Los Angeles he created a loop on his GuitarViol to which Derrickson responded "I think that’s the score!" when it was played for him.^[5] Taking just a piece of the original score, Bates utilized the theremin, which Herrmann heavily used for the original film. Bates and the theremin player he hired used the instrument in a manner reminiscent of a sound effect, especially during Klaatu's surgery.^[6]