The Bad Guys 2

While maybe an obvious choice, the instrumental bridge from Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” is used both imaginatively and economically in the trailer for The Bad Guys 2. It leverages the so-obvious-it’s-quite-good-actually intertextual association, while also introducing a slate of variations on the simple and catchy melodic motif of the tune so as to maintain momentum and audience interest throughout.

After a micro teaser focusing on the intensifying use of Billie Eilish’s 2019 hit “Bad Guy” (whose lyrical association to the film needs no explanation), at 0:08 we are transported to a wide cityscape shot with a juxtaposed flute and sinister mass of strings. Over some expository dialogue, the soundtrack wastes no time referencing the well-known melody, replete with inflections of bending strings. After an audiovisual blackout at 0:16, (over-the-top) epic percussion accompanies a skydiving scene as the wolf carries out what looks to be a routine heist.

For the chase scene at 0:30, a new variation on the “Bad Guy” melody comes in the form of concert strings, now re-harmonized with a descending bass—only to be cut off at 0:34 to help emphasize the midair action. So far, the use of the melody is unapologetic, and the editing arrives swiftly, never taking for granted the audioviewer’s attention.

Just as the arrangement seems to reach its climactic point, the trailer gives as a comedic audiovisual rug-pull with a match cut at 0:42—and an accompanying match cut, of sorts, in the soundtrack. It’s a highly unusual move, and worthy of note: The string melody is replaced by a diegetic, meagre car horn, slightly out of rhythm for effect—and even a wrong note at 0:45, for good measure.

Our next variation arrives at 0:49 with the studio title card, this time introducing a jazzy swing rhythm that feels very germane to the melody. At 1:16 the melody is abstracted away into a three-note motif in the bass as we’re introduced to new cast—a female crime squad who recruit the original crew, who have been trying to turn a new leaf. At 1:28 we first hear Eilish’s voice (“you’re a tough guy”)—now heard as though it were the female crew talking to the original bad guys.

At 1:40, we get yet another variation, this time matching the energy of the action montage with syncopated brass stabs and the melody buried in the arrangement, maybe as a conscious relief for fear of its overuse. Of course, we do get one more refrain at 1:59, and Eilish singing “I’m a bad guy” with the title card.

Overall, the sinister seven note instrumental motif for “Bad Guy” is nothing if not eminently flexible, and the arrangers make solid use of this fact by complementing the on-screen action at every turn—while wisely burying the motif towards the end so as not to overstay its welcome.

The Bad Guys 2 arrives in theatres August 1, 2025.

— Curtis Perry