Jason Momoa's Fast X Villain Theme Song Is A Swan Lake Remix

This post contains spoilers for "Fast X."

The "Fast & Furious" franchise has given fans and music lovers alike some genuine bangers over the years, from Ludacris' "Act A Fool" way back in 2003 to the "Gasolina" remix in the newest flick. Plus, of course, there's the multi-platinum tribute to Paul Walker — Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's catchy and heartfelt "See You Again." While the films' soundtracks have always garnered the most attention upon the release of each new installment, the musical scores that help shape the action and drama are equally as deserving of kudos — especially when composer Brian Tyler, who's been involved with the franchise since "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," is involved.

Variety recently spoke with Tyler about his score for the new film, and the composer (whose prolific musical filmography also includes "Crazy Rich Asians" and Marvel movies, plus the "Yellowstone" universe) shared insights into the process of crafting a theme for one of the franchise's boldest characters: Jason Momoa's Dante. If you haven't seen the movie yet, you've probably already gotten a good taste of Dante's particular brand of chaos from its trailers. He's on a vengeful mission to ruin Dom's (Vin Diesel) life, one that involves blowing up the Vatican, engaging in a dangerous street race, and kidnapping anyone Dom isn't paying attention to at any given moment. He also commits the egregious and twisted crime of wearing pastel on pastel.

Just as Momoa has mentioned that he played Dante as a character who's easy-going and inviting on the outside and dangerous on the inside, Tyler apparently aimed to capture a sort of deceptive amalgam of character traits for the villain in his music. "Instead of creating a dark energy theme, I went for alluring," he told Variety. "Dante is charming and he makes you laugh. So, I used high strings such as the harp, and then we get into bass music with modern instruments."

Tyler says the music is designed to draw listeners in, making them sympathize with the villain whose motivations involve avenging a loved one. "There's a sense [in his music] of empathizing with him, and why he becomes this villain," Tyler says. He also incorporated a famous piece of music into the soundtrack, taking the theme from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" and turning it a little bit strange and discordant. "You can change the surrounding chords and you still hear the 'Swan Lake' theme even though it's way off," Tyler points out, "So, when you see it in the movie, you recognize the melody, but it feels wrong."

The twisted spin on an elegant ballet is a good match for Dante, whose soft aesthetic hides a sadistic bent. According to Tyler, it all comes down to one off-kilter chord. "It's the third chord. In his theme, it's wrong," Tyler says. He even has a theory about how the musical change impacts viewers on a psychological level. "Every time it happens and cycles around, that chord goes inside your brain to understand where the music is supposed to go," he explains. "It's like a dopamine hit, that's different and reminds you there's something off about him."

If you want to catch Momoa taunting the Fast family and doing messed-up things with nail polish while a not-quite-right "Swan Lake" theme plays in the background, you can now catch "Fast X" in theaters everywhere.