Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy movies are known for their nostalgic soundtracks, which manage to be both fun and meaningful to the story and action. Writer and director James Gunn took to social media recently to answer questions about this use of music in both Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, as well as in newer projects The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.
When asked how much input he had on the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks, Gunn said he chose every song himself and wrote them into the scripts. He even said that the songs and parts of the score are played on set while shooting, and that "only a handful of directors do this." When using the score on set, they used demos rather than the final score.
Another fan asked Gunn if there was a song that he really wanted to use in a film and jokingly asked if he would have to ask another director known for his use of music, Baby Driver helmer Edgar Wright, to use it. Gunn responded, "Edgar and I did have to talk before Baby Driver and Vol 2 came out, making sure there was no crossover. I had considered both T Rex & Barry White tunes but in the end, we were safe. Phew!" Wright later confirmed that this is true on his own Twitter account.
Gunn has been very lucky to get most of the songs he has wanted for his projects, saying, "I’ve gotten every song I’ve wanted for both Guardians and #TheSuicideSquad." However, he noted that he wasn't able to get a song for Peacemaker, but added that this wasn't a bad record considering it was just one out of all the songs over the course of an entire season and it wasn't particularly important. He tries to get the rights for the music beforehand, writing in another tweet, "For the most part, we make sure we have all of the rights before we start shooting. For instance, I have all the rights already for the entire season of Peacemaker."
Peacemaker is an upcoming HBO Max series that will explore the origins of the character that John Cena plays in The Suicide Squad. The first season will consist of eight episodes written by Gunn himself. As his tweets suggest, the show will use music in the distinctive way that Gunn is known for. The filmmaker even replied to a fan and said the mix for Peacemaker is "Super-awesome tbh, might be my favorite mix ever."
Gunn is set to have a busy few years. Peacemaker is currently in production and set to be released in January 2022. The Suicide Squad, where the titular character of Peacemaker will debut, is apparently completely finished and will be released on August 6, 2021. Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 is set to begin production later this year and the current release date is for May 5, 2023. Gunn has said he is planning for the third Guardians of the Galaxy to be his last.
Guardians of the Galaxy and Vol. 2 are now available on Disney Plus.
Source: James Gunn | Twitter