Steps Soundtrack to Feature Kris Bowers Score

Netflix tapped Kris Bowers to score the Steps Soundtrack from their upcoming animated fairy-tale remix of Cinderella. As a result, the comedy film has become one of Netflix’s most intriguing upcoming animated releases.

Keep reading to learn more about the film, including Bowers’ involvement with it.

Kris Bowers Scoring Netflix’s Steps Soundtrack Makes It One to Watch

Last year at the Annecy Film Festival, Netflix revealed that they were making a new Cinderella adaptation, which they had dubbed Steps. Moreover, they noted that the animated feature wouldn’t be about Cinderella herself. Instead, it will focus on her stepsisters.

The film has been drawing social media buzz since the announcement, but the latest news just might bring it through the roof. That’s because we finally have details on its soundtrack and release date.

That’s very exciting news indeed. And it’s because the film will drop on the Netflix streaming platform on November 20, 2026. Furthermore, it will feature an original score from the legendary, award-winning composer Kris Bowers.

You heard me! Bowers is gracing us with another animated movie soundtrack, and just in time for our holiday get-togethers. Moreover, he’s already hard at work recording the Steps Soundtrack at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. In other words, the Steps soundtrack will be more epic than it will have any right to be.

Why Kris Bowers Is a Strong Fit for Netflix’s Steps Soundtrack

Now, if you don’t know who Kris Bowers is, let me fix that error. That’s because he seems perfectly fit for the Steps Soundtrack.

You see, Bowers is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker and an Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar-nominated composer and pianist. So, he knows how music and film work together to create the whole picture from both sides.

Furthermore, his music often features an emotional mix of classical music and jazz with a heavy focus on rhythm and attentive character motifs. That, of course, makes it perfect for an animated film such as Steps, which must balance fairy-tale spectacle with sincerity.

For example, we can look at Bowers’ music for DreamWorks’ The Wild Robot. His music was so good that it gained numerous award nominations along with winning Best Original Score Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) Awards. His other notable feats include the GOAT, Spider-Noir, and Space Jam: A New Legacy soundtracks.

Netflix’s Steps Puts a Fresh Spin on the Cinderella Formula

As for the film, it’s an adaptation of the Cinderella story, as I have said earlier, but with a twist. Overall, it’s an attempt to redeem the stepsisters. Well, one of the sisters anyway, the one the film names Lilith.

That’s because it’s going to portray her as “a misunderstood young woman” who gets blamed for ruining the Royal Ball. It will then show us how she learns that she’s no different than Cinderella, who she must now team up with in order to save the kingdom before it’s too late.

The film’s crew also hopes that the film will eventually merge into the broader Cinderella legend and become part of the tale going forward. That’s a lofty goal, indeed. I hope it does well enough for them to reach that goal.

To make it happen, Netflix hired Alyce Tzue and John Ripa to direct the film with a screenplay from a team led by Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci (known collectively as the musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates). They also acquired the voice talents of:

• Ali Wong as Lilith
• Stephanie Hsu as Margot, the other stepsister
• Amanda Seyfried as Cinderella
• Daniel Radcliffe as The Prince
• Nikki Glaser as Priscilla (basically Cinderella’s chief rival for The Prince)
• Bette Midler as The Fairy Godmother
• Young Mazino
• Peter Dinklage

Lindhome and Micucci will also provide the Steps Soundtrack with its vocal tracks.

That’s some serious star power. I just hope that they have what it takes to make us believe that Steps was a part of Cinderella all along. However, similar attempts have failed, turning their interesting premises into mere gimmicks.

Abbey Road Studios Signals the Steps Soundtrack Will Take n Even Bigger Musical Swing

In either case, they will have Bowers’ awesome music at the helm. And you can tell that Netflix is serious about this since he’s been making music at Abbey Road Studios.

You don’t make soundtracks there unless you have some real ambition for your film. That’s because the facility has a reputation for high-quality, live orchestral sound. In other words, you don’t go there for some routine animated comedy.

Sure, a recording location doesn’t guarantee quality, of course, However, the studio’s aura and scale may be what makes the Steps Soundtrack feel both alive and magical, a perfect fit for its character-focused, fantasy setting.

So, What Should We Expect from the Steps Soundtrack?

With that said, we must ask how Bowers will incorporate the film’s fairy-tale framework in the music. Motifs for every named character, obviously. But how? And more importantly, how will the score incorporate Lindhome’s and Micucci’s duet song, which will likely be Lilith’s personal theme?

In other words, will Bowers go for that classic fairy-tale elegance, but without the nostalgia. Or will he score a more modern take to go along with the film’s modern embellishments. The movie has been reported to feature biker gangs, after all.

Only time will tell, of course. But given the context, we can expect some tonal contrast from the Steps Soundtrack. In other words, the film may swing wildly between the absurd and the surprisingly sincere. That’s because it’s a modern fantasy. It’s to be expected and might even be enjoyable if it doesn’t lose us in the shifts.

Final Thoughts: When Does Netflix’s Steps Premiere?

Either way, we’ll know the answers on November 20, 2026. That’s when the film will go live on Netflix’s streaming platform, as I have said above. Although, there might also be an awards-qualifying theatrical release in select markets.

That’s perfect timing for Thanksgiving and the Christmas season. People will be home with their families looking for something to watch together with their kids. Steps may provide them with that thing to watch, and Bowers will ensure they’ll have something for the drive home.

However, that’s just my take, but what’s yours?

Post your thoughts in the forums or in the comments below.