Filmmaker James Gunn’s tenure as the director and creative force behind the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise is coming to an end, but the filmmaker plans to go out with a bang. In addition to his third and final film in the series arriving in the summer of 2023, Gunn has also directed “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special,” set to premiere during this upcoming holiday season on Disney+. For months, fans have speculated wildly about the special and its suspicious connections to the 1978 “Star Wars Holiday Special.” Would Gunn be audacious enough to recreate the most-hated franchise spinoff in Hollywood history?
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Well, not really, it turns out. Gunn is doing his own thing and a narrative story that mixes his humor and heart. Marvel Studios has finally unveiled the first look teaser for the series, and you guessed it — and it looks heartwarming, hilarious, and wild in his patterned, irreverent James Gunn manner.
In addition to the usual suspects of the Guardians team, Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Vin Diesel voicing Groot, Bradley Cooper voicing Rocket, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Pom Klementieff playing Mantis, and Sean Gunn as Kraglin Obfonteri, the new Yondu essentially— though not Zoe Saldaña, as her Gamora character is missing in action as noted by the characters— “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” also breaks out one big celebrity cameo in Kevin Bacon. However, it looks more than just a winky cameo. The Guardians actually try and kidnap Bacon as a misguided gift to cheer up Peter Quill (Pratt), who is still heartbroken over the missing Gamora (Saldana).
The press release even mentions that Michael Rooker, who played the aforementioned Yondu, is in the special, so maybe a flashback before his death in “Guardians of The Galaxy Volume 2”?
The “Guardians of The Galaxy Holiday Special” will premiere on November 25 on Disney+. Watch the first trailer below.