to beat you and you're trying to beat me. But what if the scene is... part of it is peacocking and part of it is a courtship dance and part of it is fighting because 'I hate that I have to work with you' etc. You can't express that in a fight sequence, but in a dance fight you can." Negahban joined the series during production on the eighth episode following the recasting of the Shadow King, and had to reshoot all of the scenes from the first seven episodes featuring the character. Filming for the season took place in a desert. Music Composer Jeff Russo stated in April 2017 that he would begin work on the season, including developing new thematic material, in June after he completed work on the third season of Fargo. A soundtrack album for the season featuring Russo's score was released digitally on May 25, 2018. All music by Jeff Russo, except where noted: A second album for the season was released August 17, featuring classics reimagined by Russo. Hawley, who pitched song ideas to Russo, provided lead vocals, with Russo backing on harmony vocals and various instruments including the Moog Synthesizer IIIc. Creating the covers were a "unique way to help propel the story,” Russo stated, “All of them have lyrical significance and we thought it would be a great idea to do them in the style of the show's music.” The deluxe edition of the album features a cover of "Behind Blue Eyes" as performed in "Chapter 19" by Dan Stevens and Navid Negahban and a cover of "Road to Nowhere" by Rachel Keller from "Chapter 2" in season one. All music performed by Noah Hawley and Jeff Russo, except where noted: Shared universe connections For the second season, Hawley wanted to further explore the connections between the series and the wider X-Men universe, particularly in paralleling common elements found throughout the universe such as the "gray approach to morality and how characters can cross that line, like Magneto." This was something Hawley felt was unique to this universe, and "not the same kinda black and white universe that you get in other comic franchises, and so I really wanted to play with that." The season also continues to explore Haller's father, Charles Xavier, though Hawley was reluctant to confirm an appearance by one of the X-Men film actors (Patrick Stewart or James McAvoy) reprising that role for the show since he felt incorporating elements directly from the films "too quickly" was "cheating on some level", rather than telling his own standalone story first. The Shi'ar alien race are mentioned in the season, ahead of their film introduction in the 2019 X-Men film Dark Phoenix. Release Broadcast The season began airing on FX on April 3, 2018, and consisted of eleven episodes. Hawley had previously said, in March 2017, that he expected the season to begin airing in February 2018. Marketing Footage from the season debuted at the FX Television Critics Association panel in January 2018, introducing Negahban as Farouk in an announcement of his casting. Hawley and several cast members attended the panel. A trailer for the season was released online at the start of March, and multiple commentators noted that it indicated the noteworthy aspects of the first season would be retained for the second—an unreliable narrative, "stunning" visuals, and significant cast members including Stevens, Plaza, and Clement. The dancing featured in the trailer and the introductory footage of Negahban were also highlighted. An artistic video installation created by Marco Brambilla Studio was open to the public at Goya Studios in