Netflix’s R-rated buddy comedy Little Brother arrived on the streamer on June 26, 2026, starring John Cena, Eric André, Michelle Monaghan, and Christopher Meloni in a film directed by Matt Spicer. The story follows a meticulous real estate agent whose controlled, carefully constructed life unravels when an eccentric acquaintance from a childhood mentorship program crashes back into his world.
Behind the comedy is a musical identity that punches well above the genre’s typical expectations: an original score composed by Dan Deacon — one of the most distinctive voices working in contemporary American film music — paired with a richly curated licensed soundtrack supervised by Gabe Hilfer.
What makes this score particularly unusual is that Eric André, who co-stars in the film and is a graduate of Berklee College of Music, plays upright bass on the recording sessions himself. The Little Brother soundtrack album was released simultaneously with the film on June 26, 2026, through Netflix Music.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Film Title | Little Brother |
| Director | Matt Spicer |
| Screenplay | Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel |
| Producers | David Bernad, Ruben Fleischer |
| Production Companies | Netflix Studios, The District, Middle Child Pictures |
| Platform / Distributor | Netflix |
| Film Release Date | June 26, 2026 |
| Film Runtime | 102 minutes |
| Composer | Dan Deacon |
| Label | Netflix Music |
| Soundtrack Release Date | June 26, 2026 |
| Total Score Tracks | 17 |
| Total Score Runtime | 29:26 |
| Music Supervisor | Gabe Hilfer |
| Format | Digital Album (Hi-Res) |
| UPC | 810123169290 |
Little Brother Soundtrack Overview
Netflix Music released the Little Brother original soundtrack album on June 26, 2026, the same day the film premiered on the streamer. The album is available across all major digital streaming and download platforms in Hi-Res format and contains 17 original score tracks at a total runtime of 29 minutes and 26 seconds. A week before the full release, on June 17, 2026, Netflix Music put out “Brothers” (feat. Eric André) as a standalone digital single — the album’s opening track and main theme — giving audiences an early preview of both the score’s emotional range and its unconventional production approach.
Dan Deacon built the score around a hybrid ensemble that merges a live orchestra of strings, woodwinds, and brass with percussion and electronic synthesis. The blend creates a musical through-line for a film that shifts between slapstick chaos and genuine sentiment. The standout element of the recording process was the direct involvement of Eric André: in addition to his role in front of the camera, André — who attended Berklee College of Music — contributed as a performer on the score, playing upright bass during the sessions. Deacon went further, sampling André’s voice and weaving those samples into the looping harmonic structure of the main theme, giving the album’s sonic identity a direct connection to the film’s central performance.
The score is lean and focused, averaging under two minutes per cue across most of the album, with several tracks functioning as compact comedic punctuation alongside a handful of longer, more emotionally developed pieces.
Who Composed the Little Brother Soundtrack?
The Little Brother score was composed by Dan Deacon, born August 28, 1981, in West Babylon, New York, and based in Baltimore, Maryland. Deacon built his initial reputation as an electronic musician and live performer, releasing five solo studio albums — most notably Spiderman of the Rings (2007) and Bromst (2009), both named Best New Music by Pitchfork — and becoming known for large-scale, audience-participatory live shows. His most recent solo record, Mystic Familiar, was released in January 2020 through Domino Records.
From early in his career, Deacon was also developing a concurrent practice in contemporary classical composition, premiering works at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Barbican Centre, and collaborating with ensembles including Kronos Quartet, Sō Percussion, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the LA Philharmonic. He has also composed ballets for choreographer Justin Peck with the New York City Ballet.
His film scoring work took hold through acclaimed documentary projects. His score for Theo Anthony‘s Rat Film (2017) was released on the Domino Soundtracks imprint and received a Cinema Eye Honors nomination for Best Original Score. He followed it with multiple Sundance projects in 2021, including Strawberry Mansion, All Light, Everywhere, and Jessica Kingdon‘s Ascension — an Oscar-nominated documentary for which Deacon’s score won the Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score award at the 2022 Cinema Eye Honors.
Work on major studio narrative features accelerated from there. Netflix‘s Hustle (2022, dir. Jeremiah Zagar) and Rez Ball (2024, dir. Sydney Freeland), Apple TV+‘s The Changeling series (2023, created by Kelly Marcel), and Sony/Marvel‘s Venom: The Last Dance (2024) — the highest-grossing film Deacon has scored — established him firmly as a crossover composer operating at the intersection of indie sensibility and mainstream studio work. His most recent television credit prior to Little Brother was HBO‘s Task (2026).
Describing his approach to Little Brother in a statement shared via BrooklynVegan, Deacon explained: “Blending a live orchestra of strings, woodwinds, and brass with percussion and electronics created a sonic palette that becomes a through-line for the film. The highlight of the recording sessions was having Eric André play upright bass on the score. Watching him channel his signature energy into a classical instrument was pure joy. He brought raw energy. Sampling his voice for the loops in the main theme opened up the piece, letting me explore it more, like one of my album tracks.”
Dan Deacon — Selected Composer Filmography
| Year | Project | Type | Studio / Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Twixt (co-composer with Osvaldo Golijov) | Film | 20th Century / Francis Ford Coppola |
| 2017 | Rat Film | Documentary | Domino Soundtracks |
| 2018 | Time Trial | Documentary | — |
| 2019 | Well Groomed | Documentary | HBO |
| 2019 | And We Go Green | Documentary | Hulu |
| 2021 | Strawberry Mansion | Film | — |
| 2021 | All Light, Everywhere | Documentary | — |
| 2021 | Ascension ★ Cinema Eye Honors Winner | Documentary | Paramount |
| 2022 | Philly D.A. | TV Series | PBS |
| 2022 | Hustle | Film | Netflix |
| 2022 | Great Photo Lovely Life | Documentary | HBO |
| 2022 | King of Clones | Documentary | Netflix |
| 2023 | The Changeling | TV Series | Apple TV+ |
| 2023 | The Power of Parker | TV Series | BBC |
| 2023 | Rotting in the Sun | Film | – |
| 2024 | Wedding Season | TV Series | Disney |
| 2024 | Rez Ball | Film | Netflix |
| 2024 | The Perfect Wife | TV Series | Hulu |
| 2024 | Venom: The Last Dance | Film | Sony / Marvel |
| 2025 | Omnivore | TV Series | Apple TV+ |
| 2025 | Vitalik: An Ethereum Story | Documentary | — |
| 2025 | Andre Is An Idiot | Film | A24 |
| 2026 | Task | TV Series | HBO |
| 2026 | Little Brother | Film | Netflix |
Little Brother Official Tracklist
The following tracklist is verified via FMDB (primary source) and cross-referenced against Film Music Reporter:
- Brothers (feat. Eric André) — 2:58
- Escapes — 1:26
- Rudd — 3:05
- Marcus — 2:41
- Upping the Game — 2:58
- Sex on Car — 0:38
- Sneaks — 0:53
- Acceptance Speech — 2:36
- Shamed Apology — 1:07
- Brothers for Life — 2:27
- The Extended Pee-Pee Scene — 1:18
- Up the Stairs – Producers Phone — 1:36
- Mia Pep Talk — 0:49
- Emergency Trach – Marcus Is a Hero — 0:56
- Rudd Slow — 1:53
- Josh — 1:03
- Porsche Scratch — 1:15
Total Runtime: 29:26
Score Highlights
“Brothers” (feat. Eric André) (2:58) is the album’s opening statement and its most structurally layered piece. Released as a digital single a week before the full album, it is the only track on the score to carry a featured artist credit — a direct acknowledgment of Eric André‘s upright bass performance and the voice sampling that Dan Deacon built into its looping harmonic structure. At nearly three minutes, it is among the longer entries on a lean album, and functions as both the emotional anchor of the score and a standalone demonstration of Deacon’s approach: orchestral warmth filtered through electronic texture, with a performer’s raw energy baked into the production at a fundamental level.
“Rudd” (3:05) is the album’s single longest cue and bears the name of John Cena‘s character. Its extended duration, relative to most other tracks, suggests it anchors one of the film’s more sustained dramatic or introspective beats — the musical space where the straight-man’s internal life is given room to breathe. Given Deacon‘s stated approach of creating a sonic through-line for the entire film, this track likely represents the score’s grounded, more conventionally orchestral register.
“Marcus” (2:41) pairs directly with “Rudd” as a character portrait. The two tracks sit in close proximity on the album and function as mirror images — the first grounded, the second, by implication, more kinetic or unpredictable, reflecting the chaotic energy of Eric André‘s role. Together they establish the film’s central emotional dynamic through purely instrumental means.
“Upping the Game” (2:58) is one of the album’s three longest cues and sits at the midpoint of the tracklist, suggesting it accompanies an escalating comedic or competitive sequence — consistent with its title and placement.
“Emergency Trach – Marcus Is a Hero” (0:56) is the score’s most scene-specific title. WhatSong confirms that “The Host of Seraphim” by Dead Can Dance plays at 01:07:06 during a sequence in which Marcus performs a tracheotomy on Josh — placing this score cue in close narrative proximity to that setpiece, likely scoring the resolution or aftermath of the same scene.
“Porsche Scratch” (1:15) connects directly to a confirmed needle drop moment: WhatSong places “Conquistadores” by Chico Hamilton at 00:20:40 when Marcus leaves the hospital and damages Rudd’s Porsche. This score cue likely bridges or punctuates that inciting incident.
“Brothers for Life” (2:27) reads as the score’s emotional endpoint — the cue most likely associated with the film’s resolution between its two central characters, given both its title and its placement near the close of the album.
Note: Scene-level interpretations for individual score cues in this section are inferred from track titles and adjacent needle drop data sourced from WhatSong. Scene-specific placement of score cues has not been independently confirmed by a primary production source.
Little Brother Licensed Songs / Needle Drops
Music supervisor Gabe Hilfer constructed a licensed soundtrack that ranges across soul, hip-hop, R&B, and ambient classical, working in counterpoint to Dan Deacon‘s original score. The following 19 in-film needle drops are confirmed with timestamps and scene context via WhatSong:
| Timestamp | Song | Artist | Confirmed Scene Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00:07 | “Me and Baby Brother” | War | Marcus escapes the psychiatric hospital — the film’s opening scene |
| 00:04:07 | “Next Level” | Zayde Wølf | Promo footage for the NYC Hustlers reality show |
| 00:09:55 | “Walk Away From Love” | David Ruffin | At Deirdre’s fundraiser, as Rudd celebrates the show while Josh undercuts him |
| 00:16:04 | “Just The Two Of Us” | Will Smith | 1998 flashback — young Rudd first meets young Marcus at a volunteer event |
| 00:20:40 | “Conquistadores” | Chico Hamilton | Marcus leaves the hospital and scratches Rudd’s Porsche |
| 00:30:26 | “Microphone Fiend” | Eric B. & Rakim | Marcus shouts from the car upon arriving in New York |
| 00:34:42 | “Love Hangover” | Diana Ross | At the brownstone shoot — Rudd meets Kieran ahead of his audition |
| 00:49:35 | “Daily” | Khalan The Great | On NYC Hustlers, Marcus hijacks Rudd’s listing scene and wins over the producers |
| 00:53:21 | “The Reason” | Hoobastank | Marcus and Mia bond over the song in the office kitchen |
| 00:55:38 | “All of Me” | Billie Holiday | At Josh’s house |
| 00:56:46 | “The Message” | Cymande | In Rudd’s car, as Deirdre grows weary of Rudd fixating on Josh |
| 00:57:43 | “I Want’a Do Something Freaky To You” | Leon Haywood | Rudd and Deirdre get intimate in the car |
| 00:59:00 | “LET ‘EM KNOW” | T.I. | At Josh’s party shoot — Marcus supports Rudd while flirting with Mia |
| 01:02:31 | “Flaunt It/Cheap” | Rae Sremmurd | In Josh’s bathroom — Josh offers pills before Marcus pushes back |
| 01:04:02 | “El Apagón” | Bad Bunny | At Josh’s party — Marcus and Mia connect over their shared history with Rudd |
| 01:07:06 | “The Host of Seraphim” | Dead Can Dance | Marcus performs an emergency tracheotomy on Josh |
| 01:10:58 | “Take It From One Who Knows” | The Ovations | Everyone leaves the party in a subdued mood |
| 01:15:13 | “The ‘In’ Crowd” | Ramsey Lewis Trio | At the awards event — Rudd’s sons confront him and Deirdre pulls away |
| 01:30:44 | “Me and Baby Brother” | War | Marcus and Rudd play basketball as the end credits roll |
Note: “Just The Two Of Us” by Will Smith also appears in the official trailer, per the WhatSong trailer songs section. Its in-film placement at 00:16:04 is confirmed separately as a distinct use within the film itself.
The licensed selection is notably eclectic — opening and closing with War‘s “Me and Baby Brother” to give the film a deliberate structural frame, deploying Dead Can Dance‘s “The Host of Seraphim” for one of the film’s most absurd setpieces, and using Hoobastank‘s “The Reason” in what appears to be a comedic character bonding moment. The curation reflects a willingness to play licensed music for both ironic and earnest effect across the film’s two-act structure.
Where to Listen to the Little Brother Soundtrack
Little Brother streams exclusively on Netflix in all supported regions, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, among others. The original score album — Little Brother (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film) — is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and all major digital platforms under the Netflix Music label in Hi-Res digital format. The lead single “Brothers” (feat. Eric André) remains separately available as a standalone digital single. The licensed songs featured in the film can be found via the respective artist pages across all major streaming services.
FAQs
Who composed the Little Brother (2026) soundtrack?
The original score was composed by Dan Deacon, a Baltimore-based composer and electronic musician born in 1981. He is also known for scoring Venom: The Last Dance, Hustle, Rez Ball, The Changeling, Ascension, and HBO‘s Task, among many other film and television projects.
How many tracks are on the Little Brother score album?
The official soundtrack contains 17 original score tracks with a total runtime of 29 minutes and 26 seconds, released via Netflix Music in Hi-Res digital format.
Does Eric André appear on the Little Brother soundtrack?
Yes. Eric André — a graduate of Berklee College of Music — plays upright bass on Dan Deacon‘s score. Deacon also sampled André’s voice and used those samples as looping textures in the main theme track, “Brothers” (feat. Eric André), which was released as a digital single one week before the full album.
When was the Little Brother soundtrack released?
The full Little Brother soundtrack album was released by Netflix Music on June 26, 2026, the same day the film premiered on Netflix. The opening track, “Brothers” (feat. Eric André), was made available as a digital single on June 17, 2026.
What licensed songs are featured in Little Brother?
The film contains 19 confirmed in-film needle drops supervised by Gabe Hilfer. Standout licensed tracks include “Me and Baby Brother” by War (which frames the entire film as both opening and closing cue), “Just The Two Of Us” by Will Smith (accompanying a 1998 flashback), “The Reason” by Hoobastank, “El Apagón” by Bad Bunny, and “The Host of Seraphim” by Dead Can Dance, which plays over a tracheotomy sequence.
Where can I stream the Little Brother score album?
The score album is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and all major digital music platforms, released under the Netflix Music label.
What is the total runtime of the Little Brother score album?
The album runs for 29 minutes and 26 seconds across 17 tracks.