The holidays aren’t for another several months but James Gunn already has us feeling a little festive. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special drops later this year on Disney+. And the Peacemaker director is hyping it up in a massive way.
In a recent interview with Radio Times, Gunn had a lot of exciting things to say about the upcoming special. He shared, “The Holiday Special is the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life. It’s totally ridiculous, and every day we can’t believe that we’re making it. We all completely love it. It is unlike anything that anyone’s ever seen before. I can’t wait for people to see it.”
These are some big words from the man who rescued the Suicide Squad characters and then delivered an incredible spinoff series in Peacemaker. But if he calls this the greatest thing he’s done, we’re fully prepared to believe it.
He added that luckily fans don’t have to wait too much longer as it drops on around Christmas 2022. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, and Pom Klementieff are all returning for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
Gunn and the cast remain pretty mum on the special’s plot thus far. But Gunn has shared that the special, which is under 40 minutes, is set within the MCU canon and will serve as a lead-in to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The Guardians’ third outing debuts in May 2023, so The GOTG Holiday Special is the perfect in-between to set up their next official adventure after Thor: Love and Thunder this summer.
Gunn even explicitly confirmed the special’s place in the MCU’s timeline, saying it comes between Thor: Love & Thunder and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Additionally, now that we know more about the MCU’s upcoming phases, Gunn explained how The Guardians of the Galaxy’s Holiday Special fits into the MCU phase-wise. He describes it as the epilogue to Phase 4.
New stories and new characters, we feel excited about that. But considering we’re still months away from The GOTG Holiday Special‘s release, we’re incredibly curious about one thing in particular: the music. The Guardians franchise is famous for its killer music. And we imagine the Holiday Special will be no different. Should we expect something old school, like Perry Como and Nat King Cole classics? Or Maybe a little bit of Wham! for some ’80s goodness? Could Marvel Studios secure the rights to Christmas queen Mariah Carey’s biggest holiday bop?
Hopefully, Gunn gives the inside scoop as we must know which tracks Groot in his Santa hat will inevitably dance to.
Originally published on March 25, 2022.