James Gunn Explains Peacemaker's Love of Hair Metal

James Gunn's Peacemaker series on HBO Max is every bit as connected to music as his Guardians of the Galaxy films, though it has attached itself to a completely different genre and sound. The entire Peacemaker soundtrack is comprised of hair metal and glam rock. Wig Wam's "Do Ya Wanna Taste It" has been stuck in the head of every Peacemaker fan for weeks now, and that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the show's love and inclusion of hair metal. Firehouse, Hanoi Rocks, Faster Pussycat, and so many other bands are getting renewed attention thanks to the Peacemaker soundtrack. 

The biggest reason for this specific genre in Peacemaker is that it's part of the character. John Cena's titular antihero is obsessed with hair metal. During a roundtable interview that ComicBook.com attended, Gunn said that hair metal was a form of freedom and expression for Peacemaker, as it was a form of rebellion against his father.

"I think that is the music that speaks to Peacemaker's spirit. He loves hair metal," Gunn explained. "But I also think that it speaks to a lot of the things that his dad is not. It's androgynous. I think of Peacemaker bringing home a Hanoi Rocks album with all the guys in the makeup, and the fishnet stockings, and everything else. I think of him bringing a Motley Crue album with the satanic symbol on the front. And those are direct affronts to who his father is. So I feel like music is something that belongs to Peacemaker, and as the series goes on we see some of the reasons for why that's the case."

Not only does the Peacemaker character connect to hair metal at a molecular level, but Gunn is also a massive fan himself. In speaking with Billboard recently, Gunn revealed that he's been looking for a project where he could use a lot of the glam songs that he's fallen in love with over the years.

"Secretly I've been wanting to do a hair metal/glam metal soundtrack for a while, because I do think there are a lot of great songs out there," the filmmaker said. "It's music that died in a few weeks after Nirvana came out and with the exception of Motley Crue and Bon Jovi and some of the monster acts was just completely gone, unfairly so. But there's also some really good musicianship and some really good songs from that era that just stick with me. So finding those gems amidst the heap of glam metal was something that excited me and something I've been doing for years on my own anyway. There are so many great sleaze metal/glam rock bands today, especially out of Europe that are so good and actually much better, in general, than the old stuff."

Have you been digging the Peacemaker soundtrack so far? What's been your favorite song on the series? Let us know in the comments!