Running up that hill, a deal with god … of thunder. Director Taika Waititi confirmed in a new interview with NME that Thor: Love and Thunder nearly included music by Kate Bush before Stranger Things made “Running Up That Hill” a resurgent international sensation — something Waititi jokes “ruined” the experimental ’80s musician’s work for her longtime fans.
When asked about whether his new film — which stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Christian Bale — could give Guns N’ Roses the same commercial boost Stranger Things gave Bush after featuring four of the rock band’s songs, Waititi didn’t hold back about what that boost really meant to Bush’s superfans. “You mean how they ruined Kate Bush?” he joked.
More from Billboard
“I love that show, but as someone who feels a real ownership of Kate Bush music … I’m really annoyed!” he continued. “I’ve become one of those old a–holes who’s like: ‘These kids never listened to Kate Bush, they’ve heard one song on a TV show! They don’t know Kate Bush! I know Kate Bush!’”
He also went on to confirm something recently revealed by Bale, who plays Thor’s latest enemy in Marvel’s extensive string of intergalactic villains in the new movie — that he had planned on featuring Bush’s music in Thor before Stranger Things season four aired. After Netflix’s blockbuster sci-fi series heavily used “Running Up That Hill” in its latest season, the song skyrocketed to No. 1 on the U.K. charts and hit an unprecedented peak of No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 nearly 37 years after its original release.
“Before Stranger Things! Yeah, there were a bunch of Kate Bush songs I wanted to have in there,” Waititi revealed. “We were gonna have ‘This Woman’s Work,’ which was gonna be great for [a scene with] Natalie Portman’s character.”
In addition to the Thor Kate Bush dance party that never was, Waititi also opened up to the publication about how special it was to include four Guns N’ Roses songs in his new film, including “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”
“We actually wanted five [songs], but that might have been overkill,” he shared. “It was a real triumph, having one of my favorite bands from when I was a kid, the band that really informed the soundtrack to my life.”
