Warning: SPOILERS for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 are ahead!
When Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord, was abducted from Earth in Guardians of the Galaxy's prologue, he had with him a backpack filled with what would become his only mementos from Earth. These included his Walkman and the mixtapes that his mother, Meredith Quill, made for him, and the songs on these mixtapes doubled as the soundtracks for the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies. However, when we hear some of the tunes loaded onto Peter's new Zune in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the soundtrack won't remain influenced by his mother, but instead by his "daddy," the late Yondu. As director and writer James Gunn recently said:
Volume One and Volume Two have been Meredith's song choices, her communication with Peter. Spoiler, spoiler, spoiler... in Volume 3 it will be Yondu communicating with him.
During a live Facebook Q&A, James Gunn briefly addressed the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 soundtrack, revealing that rather than harken back to Meredith Quill for a third time, instead the music will be an emotional tether to Yondu, who gave his life to save Peter in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Since the Zune holds an astounding 300 songs, it's unlikely we'll hear every track on it (although Gunn has already come up with 181 to include), but it's good to hear that Gunn is making sure that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 soundtrack entries will still have ties to the story rather than just pick them arbitrarily. One could also surmise that since Yondu was the one who found the Zune, he might loaded most or all of its songs, just like Meredith did with those mixtapes.
Peter and Yondu had an unusual relationship during their nearly three decades together. The leader of the Ravagers certainly wasn't the warmest parental figure, as he forced Peter into their illegal missions and threatened to feed him to their fellow pirates when he misbehaved. But Guardians of the Galaxy alluded that Yondu truly had a soft spot for Peter, as evidenced by his smirk upon realizing that the Orb had been substituted with a Troll doll. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 further confirmed Yondu's love for Peter not only by his unwillingness to retaliate against the Guardians for not handing over the Power Stone, but through the revelation that he'd saved Peter from being killed by Ego like the Living Planet's other progeny had been. After Yondu's sacrifice, Peter realized that Yondu had indeed been his real "daddy," so it's good to hear that he'll still hold the blue-skinned outlaw close to his heart when he's listening to the Zune in the threequel.
Marvel hasn't set a release date for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 yet, but the cosmic team of superheroes will be back on the big screen when Avengers: Infinity War is released on May 4, 2018.
