Thanks in large part to James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy films, Peter Quill/Star-Lord and his team have become inseparable from classic music. And Eidos-Montréal's upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy video game is planning to take that one step farther, as a fictional band will serve as the inspiration for Quill's superhero name.
A developer insight video focusing on Senior Audio Director Steve Szczepkowski revealed Peter will take his name from a fictional band called Star-Lord. "The Star-Lord band was a very interesting thing," Szczepkowski explained. "My creative director approached me, and he was like, 'Peter Quill took the name Star-Lord because, in our universe, he loved this band growing up called Star-Lord.'"
Szczepkowski was then asked to write a rock album. Initially, he provided the vocals for the band, thinking that someone would be brought in to replace him. However, after hearing Szczepkowski vocals on his first recorded track, "Space Riders With No Names," an unnamed creative director opted to keep Szczepkowski on as the band's lead singer. In the end, an entire album was recorded for the game.
The integration of Star-Lord's superhero name with music further connects the two. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Peter's Star-Lord name has nothing to do with music. Instead, Star-Lord is actually a nickname that his mother, Meredith Quill, had for him. In the comics, Star-Lord is a title tied to Peter's destiny as the son of J'Son, Emperor of Spartax. As such, the origins of his name are pretty malleable. This time around, aligning Peter's name more with his love of music also further builds the game's universe, distinguishing this version of Star-Lord from others that have existed in different mediums.
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It's also clear from marketing materials that Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is leaning into the musical aspects of the titular team in a big way. Star-Lord, as a character, will be able to call a "Huddle." This mechanic will allow him to select specific tracks so as to pump up his team. Thus, the choice to give Peter a name inspired by one of his favorite bands isn't just one that builds him as a character. Instead, it also plays into the game's focus on music and how it defines the motley crew of space mercenaries.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy launches on Oct. 26 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One and PC.