James Gunn reveals which songs were cut from Guardians of the Galaxy

For Guardians of the Galaxy fans, the toe-tapping soundtrack was as integral to the experience as the Power Stone or awkward dance-offs. So, imagine finding out about a whole host of tracks that were left off the mixtapes for both Volumes One and Two. It’d be like finding out your daddy was a planet. Thankfully, director James Gunn is letting us boogie down in lockdown by filling in the gaps to the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack that never was with these musical reveals.

Taking to Twitter, Gunn revealed the Meredith Quill Complete Awesome Mix, a nod to the songs left by Peter Quill’s mother that also served as the backing track to much of the movies’ action sequences and set-pieces. Gunn describes this playlist as "considerations elsewhere or just part of a master list of songs I thought would fit well."

Those of you who know the Guardians soundtracks off by heart will notice a few newcomers here. They include “Livin’ Thing” by ELO and “Magic” by Pilot, each left on the cutting room floor due to being used in deleted scenes from the first movie. The “Mr Blue Sky”-set opening to Guardians of the Galaxy 2 could have also been very different, with “Flashlight” by Parliament being considered by Gunn.

As you may have spotted, there’s even a Spotify playlist including a large selection of cut songs that were due to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel – as well as those only used in TV spots such as David Bowie’s "Moonage Daydream". Check out the full selection here (and make sure to turn the volume up).

Gunn, meanwhile, will be returning to direct Guardians 3, but not before completing work on The Suicide Squad which is due out on August 6, 2021.

While you're humming along to those hits, check out these other Marvel pages

• How to watch the Marvel movies in order 
• Marvel Phase 4 
• MCU timeline