PROPELLED into the big leagues due to the first Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, director James Gunn is known far and wide for his unique, often subdued yet crass sense of humour that has become a sort of template within his blockbuster movies, such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and The Suicide Squad.
Also a signature of his movies, is Gunn’s panache when it comes to injecting his fluid, eclectic taste of both old and new music into the movies that he has done.
Sometimes, entire scenes are written based around a certain track, and in other instances, it’s the opposite.
Yet, consistently, music also plays a part in how Gunn’s moulds and creates characters. This was seen with how music played a role in the character of Peter Quill from both Guardians of the Galaxy films.
After the success of the first GotG film, a new generation of children, and even young adults, were exposed to music and artists from the ‘70s and ‘80s.
It was no different with GotG Vol. 2.
From late last year all the way to February this year, Gunn’s Peacemaker series on HBO Max did the same.
The right sound for a troubled anti-hero
During pre-production and production of The Suicide Squad – a sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad – Gunn was brought onboard to write and direct the film, which would bring back a few familiar faces and introduce new ones.
The film was, as expected a success, and it spawned a spin-off series based on one of the new characters: Christopher Smith, or Peacemaker, played by John Cena.
While filming The Suicide Squad, Gunn became particularly interested in Peacemaker, and after spitballing ideas with Cena, they both agreed Christopher Smith was the kind of guy that would be into glam metal or hair metal music.
And so, the entirety of Peacemaker, saw Gunn introducing mainstream, modern audiences to the gleeful energy of glam metal.
Different eras
Unlike the GotG films, the music in Peacemaker included old and modern music in the glam metal subgenre, though there was a difference; the distinct choices of selected tracks were based on whether Smith listened to the particular band.
Here’s a better example.
In the opening credits of Peacemaker, the cast dances a fully choreographed sequence – with stonefaced, deadpan expressions – to Wig Wam’s “Do Ya Wanna Taste It”.
Wig Wam is a hair metal band that was formed in 2001, and have continued releasing music to this day.
Now, Smith never personally listens to Wig Wam of his own accord.
In the first episode – without revealing any spoilers – Smith goes through a record collection and picks out an album from The Quireboys, and plays a song from the record. The Quireboys were a hair metal band from the early ‘80s.
See the distinction? While Peacemaker has everything from Tigertailz to Wig Wam, the songs that play in each episode were old (if Smith plays or talks about the band) or new (if the song comes from other circumstances).
It’s a small detail, but very appreciated coming from someone like Gunn.
The direction the Gunn is pointed
As Peacemaker had glam metal front and centre, the subgenre has seen a resurgence of interest. Just like how Gunn’s magic revived a love for oldie jams through both GotG’s “mixtapes”, the same can be observed with the music selected for Peacemaker.
For instance, Wig Wam’s “Do You Wanna Taste It” rocketed to the first place on the iTunes Rock Chart. The song was originally released in 2009.
Due to the popularity of superhero films (and shows) and how these media have penetrated the zeitgeist of pop culture, it’ll be interesting to see how Gunn’s influence on glam metal resurgence will expand with Peacemaker’s announced second season and in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
