James Gunn has proven that he not only has what it takes to revive a dying MCU, but he’s also capable of reviving long-forgotten pieces of tech, as the Zune has made a comeback thanks to the Marvel director.
For those of you who have no clue what a Zune is, it’s a portable music device from Microsoft, and it was designed to compete with Apple’s iPod. Unfortunately, there was just no way to compete against the behemoth that was Apple, plus Microsoft was already late to the game as iTunes and the iPod launched in 2001. Zunes came about in 2006 and were discontinued five years later.
However, it seems that the time is finally here for the Zune to make a comeback. You may remember Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) being gifted a Zune at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and it also shows up again frequently in GotG 3. So what do people do when they see something used by a character in a popular film? Naturally, they go and buy one for themselves. The free advertising for Zune has created a pretty solid demand for the relatively outdated piece of tech. As such, Microsoft has even gotten involved with the hype, offering to give away a Zune with the same design seen in GotG 3. Gunn shared the tweet that showed a pic of the potential prize.
It feels like we’ve been transported back to the late 2000s. There’s no doubt that Gunn likes his old-school media but now it’s like he’s dragging the rest of the world back in time with him.
Since then, the little iPod clone has found itself on the receiving end of more love than ever before. #Zune started trending on Twitter with over 20K tweets and counting. Gunn himself shared a screenshot of the hashtag, accompanied by a cry-laughing emoji. It looks like he’s let the genie out of the bottle, and now the only solution is to bring the Zune back.
Whether the Zune truly does make a comeback remains to be seen but it’s certainly been a blast from the past. The fact that Gunn was able to get something that was forgotten over ten years ago, trending in 2023 shows just how powerful the man has become.