Brian Tyler

Brian Tyler
Born	Brian Theodore Tyler 8 5, 1972
Birthplace	Orange County, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Template:Flatlist
Known for	Film, television, and video game scores; Fast & Furious franchise; Marvel Cinematic Universe films; Yellowstone television series; Formula One theme
Awards	IFMCA Composer of the Year (2014)
Website	[http://briantyler.com/ Official site]

Brian Theodore Tyler (born May 8, 1972) is an American composer, conductor, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist whose work spans feature films, television series, and video games. Over a career lasting more than two decades, Tyler has composed the scores for seven installments of the Fast & Furious franchise, multiple entries in the Rambo, The Expendables, Final Destination, Now You See Me, and Scream film series, as well as Marvel Cinematic Universe films including Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Beyond the cinema, he composed the Formula One theme, the NFL Sunday Countdown theme for ESPN, and the scores for the Taylor Sheridan television universe including Yellowstone, 1883, and 1923. His composition for Last Call earned him the first of three Emmy nominations, and his films have collectively grossed over $12 billion worldwide, placing him among the highest-grossing film composers in history. In 2014, he received the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) Composer of the Year award.

Early Life

Brian Theodore Tyler was born on May 8, 1972, in Orange County, California. He grew up in a musical environment and developed an interest in music at an early age. Tyler became proficient on multiple instruments, a skill set that would later distinguish him among Hollywood composers for his ability to perform many of the parts on his own scores rather than relying entirely on session musicians.

Tyler's early musical interests were broad, encompassing classical composition, rock, and electronic music. His multi-instrumentalist abilities—spanning keyboards, guitar, drums, and various orchestral instruments—gave him an unusually hands-on approach to scoring that would become a hallmark of his professional career. Growing up in Southern California, Tyler was exposed to the entertainment industry from a young age and gravitated toward the intersection of music and visual storytelling.

Career

Early Career and Breakthrough

Tyler began his career in film scoring in the late 1990s. One of his earliest notable credits was the independent film Six-String Samurai (1998), a post-apocalyptic action comedy for which he composed the score. The film, though modest in its theatrical release, showcased Tyler's ability to blend genres musically—combining rock, orchestral, and experimental elements in ways that caught the attention of filmmakers working in action and genre cinema.

Throughout the early 2000s, Tyler steadily built his filmography, taking on a variety of projects across different genres. His versatility and willingness to work across action, horror, thriller, and drama categories allowed him to accumulate credits rapidly while developing a distinctive compositional voice characterized by propulsive rhythms, sweeping orchestral themes, and the integration of electronic elements with traditional orchestration.

Action Franchise Work

Tyler's career trajectory shifted significantly when he became associated with several of Hollywood's most prominent action franchises. He scored seven installments of the Fast & Furious franchise, establishing recurring musical themes that became closely identified with the series. This long-running association with one of the highest-grossing film franchises in history substantially raised Tyler's profile within the industry and contributed significantly to the cumulative box office total of his scored films.

He also composed the scores for the fourth and fifth films of the Rambo franchise, continuing the musical legacy of a series that had been scored by composer Jerry Goldsmith in its earlier installments. Tyler brought a contemporary sensibility to the franchise while maintaining the muscular, militaristic tone associated with the series.

Tyler scored all three films of The Expendables franchise, working alongside an ensemble cast of action stars. The scores for these films required a blend of nostalgic action-movie bombast and modern production techniques, reflecting the franchise's positioning as both homage to and continuation of 1980s action cinema.

In the horror genre, Tyler composed the scores for the fourth and fifth installments of the Final Destination franchise, as well as the fifth and sixth entries in the Scream franchise. His horror work demonstrated his range, requiring a different set of compositional tools—tension-building, dissonance, and carefully timed musical stings—compared to his action scores.

He additionally scored Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) and Eagle Eye (2008), further cementing his reputation as a reliable composer for large-scale studio productions with significant visual effects and action sequences.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Tyler's involvement with the Marvel Cinematic Universe represented a significant milestone in his career. He composed the score for Iron Man 3 (2013), the first sequel in the Iron Man sub-franchise to feature a new composer following Rami Malek's work on the first two films. Tyler's score for the film blended heroic orchestral themes with the contemporary sensibility that had become his trademark.

He followed Iron Man 3 with the score for Thor: The Dark World (2013), for which he composed both the film's score and the Marvel Studios logo fanfare that debuted with the film and was used from 2013 through 2016. The Marvel Studios logo composition became one of Tyler's most widely heard pieces of music, playing before every Marvel film released during that period and becoming instantly recognizable to audiences worldwide.

Tyler also contributed to the score of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), sharing composing duties with Danny Elfman. The collaboration between the two composers on one of Marvel's largest productions reflected the scale and complexity of the film's musical requirements.

Universal Pictures Fanfare

In 2012, Tyler created a new arrangement of the Universal Pictures logo fanfare, which had originally been composed by Jerry Goldsmith. The updated fanfare debuted with The Lorax (2012) as part of Universal Pictures' celebration of its 100th anniversary. This arrangement became the standard version of the fanfare used before Universal releases, making it one of the most frequently heard pieces of film music in the world and a notable element of Tyler's legacy as a composer whose work extends beyond individual film scores to institutional branding.

Television Work

Tyler expanded his work into television scoring, most notably through his collaboration with creator Taylor Sheridan on the Yellowstone universe of series. He composed the music for Yellowstone, the flagship series starring Kevin Costner, as well as its prequel series 1883 and 1923. For these television projects, Tyler worked alongside collaborator Breton Vivian. The Yellowstone franchise became one of the most-watched properties on cable television, and Tyler's scores—blending Americana, orchestral drama, and evocative landscape-suggesting music—became closely identified with the shows' identity.

His composition for the television film Last Call earned Tyler the first of his three Emmy nominations, marking recognition from the television industry for his work in that medium. The Emmy nominations further established Tyler as a cross-platform composer comfortable working at the highest levels of both film and television production.

Sports and Event Music

Beyond film and television, Tyler composed the NFL Sunday Countdown theme for ESPN, one of the most prominent sports programming themes on American television. He also composed the official theme for Formula One, which is additionally used in Formula 2 and Formula 3 racing broadcasts. The Formula One theme, with its dramatic orchestral flourishes and driving rhythmic energy, became an integral part of the sport's global broadcast presentation.

Tyler additionally composed the anthem for the Esports World Cup, reflecting the expansion of his work into the growing esports entertainment sector. These commissions in sports and event music demonstrated Tyler's ability to create concise, impactful musical identities for major global brands and organizations.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Tyler composed the score for The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), the animated film produced by Illumination and Nintendo. The film became a massive commercial success, grossing over $1.3 billion worldwide and becoming one of the highest-grossing animated films ever made. Tyler's score for the film incorporated and adapted themes from the Super Mario video game series while creating original orchestral compositions to support the narrative. He was subsequently engaged to score the sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Crazy Rich Asians and Dramatic Work

Tyler's score for Crazy Rich Asians (2018) demonstrated his versatility in a different register, composing for a romantic comedy-drama rather than his more typical action or genre fare. The film, based on Kevin Kwan's novel, was a critical and commercial success and represented a cultural milestone as the first major studio film with an all-Asian cast since The Joy Luck Club (1993).

Now You See Me Franchise

Tyler scored the Now You See Me franchise, composing music for the heist thriller films featuring ensemble casts. The scores required a playful yet suspenseful musical approach befitting films centered on illusionists and elaborate deceptions.

Nuremberg

In 2025–2026, Tyler scored Nuremberg, a historical drama centered on the landmark post–World War II Nuremberg trials. The project was notable both for its serious subject matter and for a personal challenge Tyler faced during its production: he experienced a life-threatening medical emergency while in the final stages of scoring the film. Despite this setback, Tyler completed the score, which was subsequently shortlisted for consideration in the Best Original Score category at the Academy Awards.

xXx: Return of Xander Cage and Other Projects

Tyler scored xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017), the third installment in the xXx franchise starring Vin Diesel. His ongoing collaboration with Diesel, who also starred in the Fast & Furious franchise, reflected the long-standing professional relationships Tyler built with actors and filmmakers throughout his career.

Electronic Music

Outside of his film and television work, Tyler has pursued electronic music under the alias "Are We Dreaming," exploring a different creative outlet from his orchestral and hybrid scoring work. This project has involved collaborations with other musicians, including work with Tom Morello, Kill the Noise, and Madsonik.

Recognition

Tyler received the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) Composer of the Year award for 2013, announced in February 2014. He also received an IFMCA award nomination in 2009.

His work earned him three Emmy nominations over the course of his career, with the first coming for his composition for the television film Last Call. The Emmy recognition placed Tyler among the relatively small number of composers who have been nominated for major awards in both the film and television categories.

Tyler earned a gold record for his work, and his compositional achievements led to his induction into the music branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Membership in the Academy's music branch signifies peer recognition within the film industry and makes Tyler eligible to vote on the Academy Award for Best Original Score.

He also received a Saturn Award nomination, with his work recognized alongside scores for major science fiction and fantasy productions.

As of November 2017, the cumulative worldwide box office gross of films scored by Tyler exceeded $12 billion, placing him in the top ten highest-grossing film composers of all time by that measure. This figure has continued to grow with subsequent releases including The Super Mario Bros. Movie and entries in the Scream and Fast & Furious franchises.

Legacy

Tyler's body of work is notable for its volume, commercial impact, and stylistic range. Having scored films across the action, horror, comedy, drama, animation, and science fiction genres, as well as major television series, sports themes, and video games, Tyler has established himself as one of the most prolific and commercially significant film composers of the early 21st century.

His creation of the Universal Pictures 100th anniversary fanfare and the 2013–2016 Marvel Studios logo music means that Tyler's compositions have been heard by billions of people worldwide in contexts extending far beyond individual film scores. The Formula One theme similarly reaches a global audience numbering in the hundreds of millions each racing season, making Tyler one of the most widely heard composers working today.

Tyler's approach to scoring—characterized by his multi-instrumentalist abilities and willingness to perform many parts himself—has been noted as distinctive within the film composing community. His integration of electronic music elements with traditional orchestral scoring, and his pursuit of electronic music as "Are We Dreaming," reflects a compositional philosophy that embraces multiple musical traditions and production approaches.

His long-running associations with specific franchises—seven Fast & Furious films, three Expendables films, multiple Scream and Final Destination entries—demonstrate the collaborative relationships Tyler has maintained with filmmakers and studios over extended periods. These franchise associations have also contributed to the thematic continuity of major film series, with Tyler's recurring musical motifs providing sonic identity across multiple installments.

The breadth of Tyler's work across the Taylor Sheridan television universe, major animated features, Marvel Cinematic Universe entries, and global sports branding positions him as a composer whose influence extends across multiple entertainment sectors rather than being confined to a single medium or genre.