How "a perfect storm of crazy ideas" resulted in Peacemaker's viral dance opening title sequence

The Washington Post

Choreographer Charissa Barton had the idea for a "big musical number with all of the superheroes of Marvel or DC" years ago. But it took James Gunn to make it a reality. "The result is a rarity for any streaming series: a credits intro most fans refuse to skip," says The Washington Post's David Betancourt. "It could even be argued that the scene — which has 5 million views on YouTube — is what fans have been talking about most when it comes to Peacemaker, a series that is also quietly being praised as one of the better things DC has produced in some time. After Gunn reached out, the seed Barton had planted in her mind years ago now had somewhere to grow. She was given Wig Wam’s 2010 song 'Do Ya Wanna Taste It' to work with, listened to it dozens of times and read Gunn’s scripts. Barton cut the three-minute song down to a minute and a half, then choreographed the group dance moves and the ones for each character, such as a janitor flipping with a mop in his hand. The biggest hurdle was finding time to practice with the actors safely and within their tight schedules. (Filming took place right as coronavirus vaccines were being rolled out, according to Barton.) Barton averaged about two to three hours of dancing with each actor. She would record them performing their moves on her phone and then send them the video so they could practice at home or in their trailers." As Peacemaker's lead, John Cena had the least amount of time to practice. So their sessions were "super-focused." By the end of their first hour together, she said, he had memorized half of his routine. Now Barton is considering creating an instructional video. ALSO: Barton found Robert Patrick to be most impressive: "I was impressed with his ability to move."