The soundtracks for Guardians of the Galaxy (Awesome Mix Vol. 1) and Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (Awesome Mix Vol. 2) both peaked in the top five of the Billboard 200 and ranked among the 10 best selling albums the years they were released. Rightly so! They are stuffed with jams and/or bangers: “Come and Get Your Love”! “O-o-h Child”! “The Chain”! All solid choices. But there’s a 1970s jam/banger out there that would fit perfectly into Guardians, but probably will never make the cut, not if people keep asking for it.
In response to a Twitter follower telling him that he better include King Harvest’s “Dancing in the Moonlight” in Guardians Vol. 3 or “I swear I will actually riot,” writer and director James Gunn tweeted, “I’m asked to include this song BY FAR more than any other. And this predictability is precisely why I’d never use it. In general, I’d rather be in the business of giving folks the thing they want that they don’t know they want rather than just the thing they know they want.” (For what it’s worth, “Dancing in the Moonlight” is in the Guardians video game.)
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1167451546113728512
Imagine your Twitter mentions being clogged with people demanding to hear a song in your movie. I guess it beats the alternative. Gunn later added that he’s been to able license “every song I’ve sought (although on the first film I inquired about [Three Dog Night’s ‘Never Been to Spain’] and its price tag scared me off from even considering it),” but there are “LOTS of songs I’ve wanted to find a space for and haven’t been able to. Hundreds. I’ve tried numerous [Alice Cooper], [Queen], T. Rex, & Stevie Wonder songs, for instance, but I just never found the perfect fit. Same with [“She’s Gone” by Hall and Oates] on Vol. 2.”
I, for one, would love to hear “I Love to Boogie” in Vol. 3.
Marvel has deep pockets. Make “Never Been to Spain” happen.
(Via Twitter)