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Fast X Composer On How His Newest Score Fits Into The Fast & Furious Franchise

The Fast & Furious franchise is coming to a (prolonged) close starting with Fast X. The tenth installment in the long-running franchise is the beginning of the end for the core Fast family, and fittingly pulls out all the stops in the process. What’s more, even as the franchise speeds toward the finish line, it has introduced one of its best-ever villains in Jason Momoa’s Dante.

Of course, the Fast & Furious franchise is ultimately about family both on-screen and behind the scenes. Much of the creative team behind Fast X has worked on previous films in the saga, and composer Brian Tyler is no exception. Fresh off his masterful score for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Tyler has created a bombastic score for Fast X that also adds fresh and new musical elements that fit perfectly with what has come before. Tyler’s score will be released as an album on June 2nd, but until then, it can be enjoyed in the movie itself.

Related: Who Dies In Fast X (& Whose Fates Are Unknown)

Brian Tyler spoke with Screen Rant about being inspired by Jason Momoa’s performance, crafting the perfect music for one of the film’s biggest action sequences, and more. Note: This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Brian Tyler on Fast X

Screen Rant: I saw a video of you from years ago where you went through how you did a cue for Fast & Furious. You were talking about laying down the band instruments like drums, bass, and guitar, and then building in the orchestra after. Has your process changed over the years at all?

Brian Tyler: Yes and no. This one is quite different. I can’t wait for you to get the score on its own, which we’re mastering right now. It’s out June 2nd. The approach was similar in terms of the order of things. The first thing I did on this one was that from the script, and from talking to people early on, and then as Louie came on board and started to shoot, I started to write music. Once I saw Jason Momoa’s performance, it was like, “There are all these characters. I’m going to write this suite that’s away from picture.” I did it all myself, including doing sampled strings. I played some strings and cello and drums and bass, and then add 808s. Then I’d go in and start programming and doing production.
Part of the sound is that I’m a music producer. I’ve had two careers; I do bass music and hip-hop and produce music with Rae Sremmurd and Wiz Khalifa, and collaborate with them, and even toured as an artist as Madsonik. It’s this whole other world, and in Fast and Furious, especially on this one, that is really forefront. It’s crazy, crazy production, from drum and bass to hip-hop, to everything in between. There are elements of electronic music, but also live musicianship and ear candy. It’s this wild sound. I was always really into that, but since the last Fast and Furious, it’s been a few years of hardcore working on my project Are We Dreaming, which is kind of like a new wave of production. That was an element that I wanted to bring into this Fast, and at the same time it had these themes and orchestral things, so I started layering. I’d have over 300 tracks and different little things in one song. I’m using the Z axis, where sound goes not just up, down, left, and right, but forward and back. It uses all this psycho-acoustic brain trickery to make you think you hear things behind your head. It’s insane. If you put on headphones with this soundtrack, you’re in for a treat.
As a precursor to what I’m about to say, the Fast and Furious movies started as racing movies. Musically, it was more just the energy thing, and it wasn’t as thematic. Then, by the time we got to Fast Five, all of a sudden the structure of the movies became more epic. There’s family, and there’s love, loss, tragedy, and all these things, and all of a sudden, I was writing leitmotifs and themes. Even though that music is a modern hybrid sound, the essence of the structure is almost more like a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, where you have themes for people. As the movies have gone by, and you introduce Jason Statham’s character Deckard, and Kurt Russell’s character Mr. Nobody, and Hobbs played by Dwayne Johnson, all the characters have themes. Now you’re talking about over a dozen main themes by the time we’re in this movie. It’s almost an unheard-of amount of character themes at this point.
So, here comes a new character, right? Here comes Jason Momoa. You go back to Fast Five, to the heist in Rio, at the beginning, and you’re seeing this amazing sequence from another perspective; you’re seeing it from the villain’s perspective. The cool thing about that is that it creates empathy for the villain. He’s not just a mindless, “I am going to nuke the planet” kind of villain. You get it. Villain themes are often kind of relegated to, like, “Whatever, just make it dark.” People tend to, in film compositions, go lower and lower and lower, and get really dirge-y. That’s not this. I think he’s the best kind of villain. He’s charming, and you have a kind of sympathy for him. He’s evil and intelligent.
We’re talking about how this started, and the suite that I wrote; it starts with Dante. It starts on violins, and it’s really snaky. The notes bend. Then there’s harp–elegant, sophisticated, charming. He’s attractive. You want to look at him. You want to have a drink with him and have him tell you a story. Villains that are human beings, I think, are best when they’re humanized. That music had to do that, and it grows out of this character. It’s building, and building, and the strings are coming in, and all of a sudden you have this modern electronic production that borrows from the most sound-design-y bass music, but with the higher orchestra. It’s kind of like he’s charming you and seducing you.
The third chord in his theme is wrong. It’s such an ‘out’ chord. It shows that he’s disjointed, and he’s fractured. It keeps on building, and shorter strings come in showing precision, and that he’s intellectual, and he can calculate how he’s going to **** you up.

Something that really stood out to me in watching the movie was the whole Rome sequence. It’s, like, a 10-minute action sequence, and there’s music the whole time. How do you keep the music building for that long?

Brian Tyler: It’s funny because Dante’s theme comes in there, and so does the Fast and Furious team theme. But when it’s the Fast team theme, it’s from the perspective of them getting their asses kicked. It’s negative, but this really, for me, musically satisfying sense of danger. It feels dangerous, and you’re dealing with major threats.
There are a couple of things I did. I was doing Dante’s theme, but really assertively. I was inverting what used to be called the devil’s interval which, back in the day, the Catholic Church in Rome banned. You weren’t allowed to do this interval, and that’s part of Dante’s theme; the devil’s interval in reverse. So that’s going on, and the tempo is building, and I slowly add in things. One of the things I did that I’ve never done in any Fast and Furious movie is use choir, so all of a sudden, you realize you’re in a nuclear scale. The scale of everything becomes much bigger, with much more peril and emotion.
Also, something that I do is something I call a shepherd tempo. There’s something called a shepherd tone, which is a note that loops around itself and always sounds like it’s going upward. There’s a thing that happens where if you ramp up too slowly in tempo, there’s this thing that happens where you don’t notice it, and so it’s useless. What would happen is that people in both film scoring and in DJing would, I think, make a mistake. They would set a start point tempo and an end point tempo and, no matter how long it was, just 45-degree angle up to it. The problem with that is, if it’s over a certain amount of time, you just don’t feel it. It doesn’t feel like it’s getting more exciting.
What I do is I’m like, “What’s going to happen if I throw out that rule?” and I just do it where I speed up and ramp up naturally. I learned this, actually, from Fast and Furious, because sometimes there are 19-minute action sequences, and DJing. I saw it work in person. I would do gig after gig, and I would do this psycho-acoustic illusion, which is that I would ramp up the tempo, and it would hit a peak, and then I would do some kind of polyrhythm against it. All of a sudden a tempo would come in that would be a tuplet, or a two-thirds tempo, and because it’s so weird against the other tempo, it sounds faster, but you’re going only 66% as fast. Now I’ve slowed way back down, and I have all this ramp again.
So I’m doing that throughout the sequence you’re asking about. It kind of continuously feels like you’re getting more intense. Then, I do actually hit the choir. In the end, I kind of go into halftime, and it just feels like that mosh pit kind of tempo, but with choir and orchestra. Everything’s on eleven right at the peak, and that feels kind of like that mic drop situation, almost like that’s the end of a concert, but with film scoring.

I appreciated the little Swan Lake nod. Where’d that come from?

Brian Tyler: Yeah, “Weird choice, Brian.” So, there’s a part where he says how much he loves opera, and I’m like, “Why not bring in some Tchaikovsky?” It sounds kind of weird; it sounds darker than Swan Lake, but it is Swan Lake. It’s a very beautiful melody. Funny enough, we already mentioned this; there are certain things that weren’t allowed in music. What I’m doing is the melody of Swan Lake, but done really low. It’s lower, but at the same time, the chords and some of the intervals are kind of banned chords Tchaikovsky wasn’t allowed to use. It makes it feel off, and kind of epic. It comes at a moment–no spoilers, but it’s a big moment. The idea was just to reference him, but do it kind of from his perspective. It’s almost like what Swan Lake would be in how he hears it in his mind.

Fast X is now going to be a trilogy, I think, but as someone who has had the Fast movies in his life for so long, have you started thinking about the end yet? How’s that been for you?

Brian Tyler: I was telling you about when I was writing that suite; I’m even thinking ahead. Some of that is actually a musical backdrop for a character that is only in it for so long. I’m even writing now, already, for things that are coming. I love being involved on the ground level, and really being a part of the filmmaking crew. I started working on Fast and Furious–my music is in the first Fast and Furious, as a matter of fact, so in terms of association with Fast and Furious, this is already 22 years.
The number of people that are still around is cool. We’re like, “We’ve been through it,” and we can’t tell you how many times we’ve told, “That’s not going to work.” “No, it’s done.” 2006–“No.” 2007–“It’s over. No more Fast.” I see it still sometimes, like, “Oh, they’re doing two more. I don’t know.” We’re used to it, and it’s a camaraderie now where we believe in it and we’ve grown together as a family.
Also, just from a composer’s perspective, this is one of the most challenging scores you can do. In a way, it has its foot in traditionalism where I have to write themes that really, really can stick with you in a way that’s architecturally like a John Williams type of score, but with orchestra and the most crazy, intensely, sonically-detailed production. I produce and mix all the scores; I won’t let anyone go there. As I’ve grown as a music producer, it has gotten more and more rich in that area, but in terms of doing something like this just as a challenging feat, it is beyond imagination. I’m really proud of it, and I’m looking forward to how this finale is going to line up. I think people are really going to be blown away.

About Fast X

Dominic Toretto must protect his family from a new threat with ties to his past. Dante Reyes, son of Hernan Reyes from Fast Five, seeks revenge against Dominic for the loss of his family fortune and the death of his father. Dominic must pull his family together to protect each other from the most volatile threat they’ve faced yet.

Check out our other Fast X interviews:

Next: THAT Fast X Character Return Explained: How It Happened & What It Means

Fast X is in theaters now, and the original soundtrack will be released on June 2.

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The 69-Year Story Behind The Fast And Furious Name

Summary

The Fast & Furious franchise started with the 2001 movie The Fast and the Furious and went through several major changes in its sequel titles. The title for the original movie was almost different, with options like Race Wars, but the producer fought for The Fast and the Furious.

As the Fast & Furious series has one of the most recognizable franchise names in cinema, some may be curious as to where its origin came from. The multi-billion-dollar franchise started with 2001’s straightforward street racing movie, The Fast and the Furious, but following that, the series went through several major changes, and that was mirrored in the Fast & Furious sequel movie titles. 2 Fast 2 Furious introduced numbered titles, then The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift immediately dropped that format. The fourquel confused things further with the title Fast & Furious, and it only got more confusing from there. However, every title is still a play on the original 2001 title.

The Fast and the Furious came to fruition following a Vibe magazine article called “Racer X”. Universal had the incredible foresight of seeing how popular street racing would become in the 2000s, and the studio quickly grabbed the movie rights to the article. However, while the movie was originally titled after the article, the studio wasn’t totally satisfied with that name, and many other titles, including Race Wars, were considered. The movie even went into production under the title Redline, but producer Neal Moritz had his mind set on one title that seemed unachievable to get; The Fast and the Furious.

RELATED: Fast & Furious Movies In Order – How (& Where) To Watch By Release Date & Chronologically

The Fast And The Furious Is Named After A 1954 Movie

Another movie titled The Fast and the Furious already existed, and it was released almost half a century before the 2001 street racing film was released. 1954’s The Fast and the Furious, written by Roger Corman, has nothing to do with street racing as it exists today. The movie follows a prison escapee who kidnaps a rich woman and steals her Jaguar, then ends up in an epic road race that ends in Mexico. While the title perfectly fits the 1954 film, Moritz was desperate to use the title for his own movie that he was producing, having learned about it after seeing a Roger Corman documentary (via Entertainment Weekly).

Moritz detailed how Universal didn’t seem to be completely on board at first. The producer explained, “I called up the head of marketing at Universal the next morning and said ‘Okay, I’ve got the title: The Fast and the Furious!’ And there was just silence on the other end. I was like, ‘Oh, I guess that is the worst title he’s ever heard.’ However, after mulling it over, Universal agreed, and it worked out perfectly, as the whole world now knows that name and it’s synonymous with the Vin Diesel-led franchise. Movie titles are extremely important, and it’s less likely that the movie would have become a billion-dollar franchise if it was titled Race Wars.

Moritz revealed, “we made a deal with Roger to give him the use of some stock footage that Universal owned.” It isn’t clear if Corman ever benefited financially from that footage. In hindsight, he undoubtedly got a terrible deal. The Fast & Furious name is extremely important to the franchise and has made Universal billions. The name has even been used for spinoffs, and Fast & Furious Present: Hobbs & Shaw wouldn’t have made $760 million without the name attached to it. However, there was no knowing how huge the franchise became. After all, The Fast and the Furious was originally just a scrappy crime movie based on a magazine article.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

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Fast X Video Reveals BTS Of Real, Practical Fights In OTT Sequel

Summary

The Fast X fight between Letty and Cipher was filmed using practical effects, resulting in a well-choreographed hand-to-hand combat sequence full of emotions. Cipher’s decision to team up with Dom and “La Familia” was out of necessity, but spending time with Letty after escaping prison could lead to her becoming a member of the family. Cipher’s unexplored history with Giselle and her association with Letty could help in mellowing down the former villain and potentially setting up a redemption arc or even a Cipher spin-off.

A new Fast X behind-the-scenes video shows how Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Cipher’s (Charlize Theron) intense fight scene was filmed. Dom and his “La Familia” returned on the big screen in 2023 for the tenth main installment of The Fast Saga. In a major twist, however, instead of butting heads again with Cipher, the primary villain of the franchise for several recent entries, Letty had to team up with her. That didn’t stop Letty from expressing her true feelings about her when they were both captured by the Agency.

Courtesy of Collider is a behind-the-scenes clip from Louis Leterrier’s Fast X that offers a look at how Cipher and Letty’s one-on-one fight scene was filmed. Check out the video below:

The Fast X fight is arguably one of the best choreographed hand-to-hand combat in The Fast Saga, and it’s all because they filmed it with practical effects. The result, coupled with the history between the pair, is an effective action sequence full of emotions.

How Cipher & Letty’s Relationship Evolves In Fast & Furious 11

Granted that Cipher’s decision to team up with Dom and “La Familia” came from necessity after she was targeted by Jason Momoa’s Dante, spending more time with Letty after escaping prison can lead to her becoming a proper member of “La Familia.” There’s precedent to this, with a few of the recent The Fast Saga villains ending up being redeemed and joining Dom and his crew. This has been the case with Deckard Shaw (despite his attempted murder of Han Lue), and more recently, John Cena’s Jakob, who sacrificed himself in Fast X to save Little B.

Increasing the chances of this happening is Cipher’s unexplored history with Giselle. After she and Letty finally escaped the Agency’s bunk prison, they found themselves in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully, Giselle came to the rescue after Cipher notified her of their escape plan. There has never been any indication that Cipher and Giselle know each other before the massive Fast X twist. Making this more surprising is that Giselle has been believed to be dead for several years now. Her association with Giselle could help Letty mellow down on the former villain when they all return for Fast and Furious 11.

RELATED: Fast X Cliffhanger Ending Explained

Perhaps, this unexpected turn could be a set-up for the in-development Cipher spin-off. Specific plot details about the project are currently scant, with Universal still not announcing a tentative release date. Nevertheless, the events of Fast X could be the start of her redemption arc, with her relationship with Letty functioning as a barometer of whether viewers can finally forgive her for all of her transgressions.

Source: Collider

Key Release Dates

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10 Characters Who Should Be In It

Summary

Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty is the franchise’s biggest female character and the obvious pick to lead the all-female spinoff. Jordana Brewster’s Mia deserves a big role in the spinoff to expand on her character and showcase her growth. Brie Larson’s Tess is needed in the spinoff to explore the mystery surrounding her character and add her engaging screen presence to the team.

The Fast & Furious saga is meant to continue with an all-female-led movie, and casting the returning characters presents exciting options. An all-female spinoff could be the perfect way to continue the Fast &Furious story, as it will be able to retain the elements of the franchise that make it iconic while offering a new perspective. From the beginning, the franchise has been very male-dominated, and told male-centric stories, so offering the high-octane thrills of a Fast & Furious movie from a female perspective could be a welcome change of pace.

The series is known for having an all-star cast, so any female spinoff will have to match the previous films. Thankfully, the franchise already has several incredible female movie stars. Fast X, the latest film in the franchise, introduced and reintroduced some exciting female characters, setting the groundwork for the upcoming Fast & Furious movie. Obviously, whatever happens in the next film will determine who will be on the team and what side they will fight for. The franchise already has a healthy supply of female characters, both good and evil, who can factor into a Fast & Furious female spinoff.

Related Fast X Proves How Great A Fast & Furious Female Spinoff Would Be The idea of an all-female spinoff is more exciting than Fast & Furious 11, with Fast X providing the blueprint for just how well it could work.

10 Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty Can Lead The Fast Spinoff Ensemble
She’s the franchise’s biggest female character

Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty has been a key member of the Fast family since the first movie, and no female spinoff would feel right without her leading the team. Dominic Toretto’s wife is one of the fastest drivers in the world. Letty has made her way from street racer to international woman of mystery, becoming one of the franchise’s best characters in the process. Rodriguez is an incredibly engaging screen presence thanks to her charisma and action pedigree. An all-female action movie is right in her wheelhouse, making her the obvious pick for the lead in the movie.

9 Jordana Brewster’s Mia Deserves A Big Role
The Toretto family member has been sidelined recently

Another extension of the Toretto family tree, Jordana Brewster’s Mia is Dom’s brother and the wife of Paul Walker’s Brian. Since Walker’s tragic death, as well as the introduction of countless new characters, Mia has been sidelined in recent films, which is a shame because she is one of the best parts of the earlier films. A spinoff with just the women could be a great time to expand on Mia’s character and see how she has grown over the past couple of years, especially now that she is the mother of two. Brewster is an underrated talent, and Mia should be heavily involved in whatever spinoff the filmmakers plan.

8 Brie Larson’s Tess Is Needed After Fast X Introduction
Mr. Nobody’s daughter has a bright future

Fast X introduced several new faces to the franchise, but perhaps most notably was Brie Larson as Tess “Nobody”, a secret agent on a quest to protect Dom and his family. Larson had relatively little screen time in the movie, and her introduction felt like it was mostly included to set up a future spinoff. The Oscar winner is the perfect name to include in a spinoff. Larson is an incredibly engaging and vulnerable screen presence and a great addition to the team. As her family name would imply, there is still a lot of mystery about Tess that this spinoff could explore.

7 Ramsey’s Return Can Give Nathalie Emmanuel A Major Role
The hacker has a growing set of skills

After her first appearance in Furious 7, Nathalie Emmanuel’s Ramsey has been the Fast team’s resident hacker and tech wiz. The Game of Thrones star has mostly been used for exposition and comic relief since joining the team, but Ramsey has a distinctive style and skill set that would make her a great addition to the female spinoff. While Mia and Letty are great drivers, Ramsey has skills in the digital realm that could help the team on whatever mission they are on. It would also be interesting to see how Ramsey functions outside the trio of her, Tej, and Roman.

Related Fast & Furious Showed How To Continue The Franchise After Vin Diesel 17 Years Ago (With A Catch) Fast & Furious finds itself at a crossroads with the end nearing, and Universal should look to the franchise’s most underrated movie for inspiration.

6 Daniela Melchior’s Return As Isabel Gives The Spinoff More Legacy
Isabel is the sister of Elena

For a while, Elsa Pataky’s Elena was viewed as an obvious candidate to appear in a Fast & Furious female spinoff. However, after her untimely demise in The Fate of the Furious, her younger sister can fill that void. Another new female protagonist introduced in Fast X, Daniela Melchior’s Isabel also felt like she was included mostly to set up this future spinoff. Melchior is one of the more promising young actors to pop up this decade, and her work in The Suicide Squad proves she is more than ready to have a large part in a team-up action movie.

5 Gal Gadot’s Place In The Fast Spinoff As Gisele Is Likely
Fast X confirmed Gisele is still alive

Gal Gadot made her return to Fast and Furious in the final moments of Fast X’s ending, which confirmed that Gisele is alive after Fast & Furious 6. The character’s return had been speculated for a long time, and audiences should see much more of her now that her fate is confirmed. A Fast & Furious female spinoff can answer lingering questions about Gisele’s life, such as how she survived falling from a plane or what she’s been doing for the last several years. The movie can also finally give Gisele a prominent role in the franchise once again.

4 Charlize Theron’s Cipher Could Play Both Sides In The Spinoff
The franchise’s villain is not to be trusted

In both The Fate of the Furious and F9: The Fast Saga, Charlize Theron’s Cipher served as the franchise’s primary antagonist. While Fast X puts her allegiance into question, she is still one of the best villains in all of Fast and Furious and would make an excellent baddie for the all-women team to go up against. While Cipher could be a reluctant ally to the team, Theron is just much more fun hamming it up as the bad guy, and the film could serve as a fitting conclusion to her movie-spanning scheme.

3 Eva Mendes Can Return As Monica Fuentes At Long Last
She hasn’t been seen since Fast Five

The Fast & Furious female spinoff would also be a great opportunity to finally bring back Eva Mendes as Monica Fuentes. Following her debut in 2 Fast 2 Furious, she returned briefly in Fast Five’s post-credits scene. Eva Mendes has since mostly retired from acting, leaving audiences without a chance to see Monica’s story continue. A Fast X Easter egg did provide a reminder of her presence in the franchise. This could be to help set up her appearance in Fast 11, but a return alongside the franchise’s biggest female characters would be more fitting.

2 Vanessa Kirby’s Hattie Needs To Crossover With The Main Franchise
She’s from the franchise’s only current spinoff

Only appearing in Hobbs & Shaw, Vanessa Kirby’s Hattie is the third sibling in the Shaw family and one of the most dangerous women in the Fast universe. She was a scene-stealing presence in the previous Fast & Furious spinoff movie that left audiences wanting more. It would be great to see Kirby return for an even bigger role in the franchise spinoff, allowing her to interact with some of the other prominent characters along the way.

1 Helen Mirren’s Queenie Should Be The Female Ensemble’s Mentor
She’s become a frequent face

With her appearances in the past four movies, including Hobbs & Shaw, Helen Mirren has become a surprising mainstay of the Fast & Furious franchise. Her role as British gangster Queenie is such a fun role for the Dame, and her time in the universe should continue especially in the all-female spinoff. Mirren’s roles in the movies have mostly been one-scene cameos, so this film could be a great space to expand the character and give her a chance to interact with more actors than just Vin Diesel.

Fast X Release Date: 2023-05-19 Director: Louis Leterrier Cast: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Charlize Theron, Nathalie Emmanuel, John Cena, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren, Brie Larson, Scott Eastwood, Jason Momoa Rating: PG-13 Runtime: 141 Minutes Genres: Action, Adventure, Crime Writers: Justin Lin, Dan Mazeau, Gary Scott Thompson Budget: $340 Million Studio(s): Universal Pictures Distributor(s): Universal Pictures Sequel(s): Fast and Furious 11, Fast & Furious 12 prequel(s): Fast & Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, The Fast And The Furious, Fast 5, Fast and Furious 6, Furious 7, Fast and Furious 8, F9: The Fast Saga1 Franchise(s): Fast and Furious

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