James Gunn Reveals the Terrible Advice He Ignored While Working on ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

James Gunn recently opened up about a memorable piece of advice he received while working on the first Guardians of the Galaxy film.

On social media platform Threads, Gunn responded to a fan question about the worst note he had ever received. He revealed that someone suggested replacing the film’s iconic 60s and 70s soundtrack with Britney Spears songs from the 90s.

“I was told no one would like the Guardians soundtrack and I should change it to Britney Spears like 90’s songs. I don’t know if it’s the worst but it’s the one I remember the most!” Gunn wrote.

The music in Guardians of the Galaxy plays a major role in the story. It connects Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord, to his late mother and serves as an emotional anchor in the film. In a 2014 interview with IGN, Gunn explained why the classic songs were so important:

“Those [songs] are cultural reference points. I knew that when we were making a movie that’s in outer space, you want to have it be this big grand adventure, but you also want to ground people in something that’s real, that seems familiar…The music and the Earth stuff is one of those touchstones that we have to remind us that, yeah, this is a real person from planet Earth who’s just like you and me. Except that he’s in this big outer space adventure.”

The soundtrack went on to achieve huge success. It topped the US Billboard 200 chart, making it the first album composed entirely of previously released songs to reach number one.

It’s hard to imagine Guardians of the Galaxy without its classic soundtrack. The choice to stick with 60s and 70s hits gave the film its heart and helped it connect with audiences in a meaningful way. Replacing it with 90s pop songs would have completely changed the tone. Do you think the film would have worked with a different soundtrack? Share your thoughts in the comments.