The Guardians of the Galaxy Song It Was Hardest For Marvel To Get Rights For

Director James Gunn has revealed which song from his Guardians of the Galaxy films was the hardest to get rights for. In the summer of 2014, Gunn launched himself and a new blockbuster sub-franchise for the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Guardians of the Galaxy. The first installment saw the assembling of Marvel’s peculiar band of “a-holes,” while an even bigger 2017 sequel delved deeper into the emotional backstories of its characters. The success of Guardians of the Galaxy was largely due to Gunn’s now trademark directing style that includes humor and a great emphasis on weaving popular songs into the fabric of his stories, something that’s become so important that the director even chose the Guardians introduction song in Avengers: Infinity War.

Marvel president Kevin Feige previously noted how Gunn used the songs and Peter Quill’s walkman as the character’s link back to earth and his mother. Gunn’s use of classic ‘60s and ‘70s tracks for the original Guardians was so effective that it made Guardians of the Galaxy the third bestselling vinyl album of the 2010s. The ‘60s and ‘70s tracks continued to play a big part in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, as the film opens with the memorable fight scene that shows the heroes battling a giant monster in the background while a joyous Baby Groot dances in the foreground to Electric Light Orchestra’s “Mr. Blue Sky.” Gunn previously noted he’s successfully licensed every song he’s wanted for his films, but one song for his popular Marvel film was easily the hardest.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, promoting his new release The Suicide Squad, Gunn was asked what song was “the toughest to clear” for the film. In his answer, the director noted nothing was tough when trying to clear songs for The Suicide Squad, as he even joked that he came in saying: “I’ve never had a song not clear.” Gunn noted that some past songs needed a “personal letter or email” to the artist to get cleared before explaining that “Mr. Blue Sky” for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 was the “hardest of all” and that it “almost didn’t happen.”

“On Squad, I don’t think there was anything that was tough. If it was, it was kept from me. I mean, I pretty much came in and said, “I’ve never had a song not clear, so don’t come to me saying that a song won’t clear.” (Laughs.) What you find out a lot is that when a song won’t clear, you just have to go back to people and ask them again. And eventually, you can get it cleared. Usually, there are a couple of artists I’ll have to write a personal letter or email to just to tell them what I think of their music because I don’t choose people unless they are really important to the movie. But the hardest of all was [Electric Light Orchestra] “Mr. Blue Sky.” That was a very difficult clear on Guardians 2. That almost didn’t happen.”

It’s perhaps not surprising that Gunn’s had difficulty getting some songs, considering how many well-known tracks he likes to attach to his films. However, the opening of Baby Groot dancing to “Mr. Blue Sky” has become one of the most iconic scenes from the Guardians of the Galaxy films, and arguably any Marvel film, so it would be difficult to imagine Baby Groot dancing to any other song for that scene. Also, the director is very specific with his song selection, so it would’ve been interesting to see what or if any other song could have fit into that scene in Gunn’s eyes. Thankfully, “Mr. Blue Sky” cleared, and fans got another great Guardians of the Galaxy moment, as well as the behind-the-scenes video of Gunn’s motion capture as Baby Groot dancing.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will begin filming later this year, and according to the director, it will be his last Guardians film. The film will likely be an emotional finale, as Karen Gillan said she cried while reading the script, and Gunn even stated he cried writing it. Also, fans will be curious to see what music will go alongside the final film in the trilogy, as the soundtrack is already finished. Luckily for fans of the franchise, they also have the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special coming in 2022 before Vol. 3 then releases in 2023, so they’ll likely have even more Guardians of the Galaxy songs to add to their playlist. Fortunately for them, “Mr. Blue Sky” is already there.

Source: THR

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