#Kevin Bacon Loves Being Name-Dropped in Guardians of the Galaxy and Wants to Be in the Next One

Everyone who knows Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, played by Chris Pratt in the Guardians of the Galaxy series, knows of the character’s love of dancing. As accomplished a dancer as Peter is, he is also a self-confessed fan of Kevin Bacon, specifically Bacon’s character in Footloose, who, to quote Star-Lord himself, taught “an entire city full of people with sticks up their butts that dancing is the greatest thing there is.” In an interview with Esquire, Bacon revealed how much he enjoyed the surprise of discovering he had been namedropped in the MCU.

“When I saw Guardians of the Galaxy, I went to see it having no idea that I was discussed. It was an afternoon in New York, I was on 67th Street and went by myself, as I often do. I was like, ‘Holy shit. They’re talking about me. Are you guys getting this?'”

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That was not the only time that Footloose’s Bacon became a topic of interest in the MCU. In Avengers: Infinity War, when Spider-Man and Iron Man meet the Guardians on a planet far, far away from Earth, it was once again Bacon’s role in Footloose that became a topic of conversation between the heroes. Clearly, the MCU has a lot of love for Kevin Bacon and his movies. So would the actor consider a cameo in the next Guardians of the Galaxy film? Bacon’s answer is a firm yes, adding, “Listen, I love the idea. I would love to be part of that.”

I met Kevin as a very young man in New York City at a screening. “You’re my favorite actor,” I told him, “Along with Mr. Peter Falk.” He told me he took that as a very high compliment. Loved working with him on SUPER & can’t wait till we can work together again. https://t.co/iDvqPTDEN8

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) May 20, 2021

The Guardians of the Galaxy movies that were directed by James Gunn were not the first time the acclaimed filmmaker had interacted with Bacon through cinema. In 2010, Kevin Bacon played the role of the main villain in Gunn’s low-budget cult hit film Super, about an ordinary man who dresses up like a superhero to rescue his wife from drug dealers. According to Bacon, the role of the villain in the movie had originally been earmarked for Jean-Claude van Damme, but he was happy to take over the part.

“What I had heard was that my part was supposed to be played by Jean-Claude van Damme. So I’m like, ‘Am I going to take Jean-Claude van Damme’s sloppy seconds? Hell, yeah.'”

Hopefully, Gunn will come to hear of Bacon’s love for the Guardians of the Galaxy series, and work in a cameo for the actor in the upcoming third installment, titled Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which Gunn has stated will be his last movie in the MCU. Considering that Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 worked in a brief cameo by David Hasselhoff among other pop culture references, it is not too much of a stretch to imagine Kevin Bacon showing up in the next one, perhaps in a scene where the actor shows Star-Lord the correct way to boogie down in an old school way.

Written and directed by James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to begin filming this year and scheduled to hit theaters on May 5, 2023. This news originated at Esquire.

Topics: Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy 3