ABC/Heidi Gutman(NEW YORK) — While it was all but certain fans would see him in the upcoming remake of Baywatch, Guardians of the Galaxy fans weren’t expecting David Hasselhoff to appear — in word, deed, and song — in that blockbuster.
Turns out Guardians writer/director James Gunn was a huge Knight Rider fan, which is why, according to the movie, Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill/Star-Lord would tell his teasing classmates that Hasselhoff was his missing father. The brave exploits of Michael Knight — and Quill’s childhood cover story — were celebrated by Zoe Saldana’s alien Gamora, who incorrectly identifies the actor as “Zardu Hasselfrau.”
In real life, Pratt was also fanboy, “The Hoff” told ABC Radio.
“He was such a huge Knight Rider fan. I brought some t-shirts, and I thought, ‘I dunno, maybe someone would want these — I hope.’ It says, ‘Don’t Hassle the Hoff.’ And he goes, ‘I’m putting mine on right now!'” Hasselhoff recalled. “And the next thing I know, the entire crew was lined up.”
Hasselhoff, a successful recording artist in Germany, was also tapped to sing on “Guardians Inferno,” a disco-themed version of the Guardians of the Galaxy theme in the vein of Meco Monardo’s 1977 disco version of the Star Wars soundtrack. “I thought, oh, I’ve hit, I’ve hit big,” Hasselhoff said, adding, “I get the demo, and it’s rap. And I said, ‘It’s rap. Of course it’s rap.’ You know, ‘How do I do this?!’ So I figured it out, and it seems to work.”
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.
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