Microsoft uses Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to revive Zune.net for STEM promotion

Near the end of the Marvel Studios movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the Ravager Kraglin gives Peter “Star-Lord”Quill a Microsoft Zune media player with 300 songs stored inside. Kraglin tells Quill that his father figure Yondu bought the Zune, stating, “It’s what everybody’s listening to on Earth nowadays.”

That Zune player will appear once again in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which hits theaters on Friday, May 4, and it will apparently be a fairly major part of the film’s plot. Never one to miss an opportunity, Microsoft is using Zune’s appearance in the film to promote both the company and also STEM efforts in schools.

While the Zune.net website has been shut down for over a decade, Microsoft has now relaunched the URL in part to promote Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. However, it’s mostly being used to showcase STEM projects that teachers can use in their classrooms, specifically with space science in collaboration with NASA, Redwire, and the ISS National Lab. That includes info on how the International Space Station uses a 3D printer to create tools and parts.

Microsoft has even posted a YouTube video showing the company’s Scott Hanselman restoring his old Zune so he can upload and watch content from the movie on the device.

Microsoft launched the original Zune in 2006, but the device, and its successors like the Zune HD in 2009, never caught on with the public. Microsoft shut down all Zune services in 2015 but the player and brand continue to show up in popular culture, which includes the Guardians of the Galaxy series.

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