Pedro Pascal's Behemoth! Premieres With Nine Composers Behind the Music

Tony Gilroy hired nine composers for one film.

His music drama Behemoth! stars Pedro Pascal as Alex Serian, a classically trained cellist who returns to Los Angeles after 20 years on the road, according to Variety. The American drama held its world premiere as the Centerpiece selection of the 64th New York Film Festival on Friday, Oct. 2, the festival's central showcase slot, Film at Lincoln Center said.

Gilroy wrote and directed Behemoth!, Variety reported. He did not want a single score to cover the whole story. Alex earns a living playing on other people's films after a life on the road, and each of those fictional films inside the story needed its own musical voice.

So Gilroy assembled nine writers instead of one. The group is billed as the Behemoth Collective. It brings together Michael Abels, Emily Bear, Lukas Frank, Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard, Henry Jackman, Nami Melumad, Brandon Roberts and Alan Silvestri.

Jackman was the first to sign on. Abels composed the music heard when Alex practises alone on the cello. Bear wrote the love theme for Season of Glass, one of the films within the film.

For audiences, this means the sound shifts as Alex moves from job to job. A practice room sounds spare. A romance sounds lush. The change tells you where you are in his working life.

Searchlight Pictures is the distributor, the company that puts the film into cinemas, according to Deadline. It has set Behemoth! for theatrical release on Dec. 4, 2026. Searchlight will also submit the song "Your God Is Sleeping" for original song consideration during awards season.

The New York launch came during the festival's 64th edition, which runs Sept. 25 through Oct. 12. Gilroy appeared there with Pascal, Will Arnett and Eva Victor to discuss the film. The festival run continues in California, where Behemoth! will close the Newport Beach Film Festival on Oct. 22, with Gilroy and production designer Jade Healy set to attend.

What makes this stand out is the coordination. Nine composers with full calendars rarely share one credit block. Gilroy kept each voice separate rather than blending them into one house style.