Marvel Studios' Phase Four is over, butThe Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Specialstarts a new MCU chapter that, according to James Gunn, will see this ragtag bunch of superheroes explore new facets of themselves.
Funnily enough, Gunn wasn’t even aware hisGuardians of the Galaxy Holiday Specialwould be the project to mark the transition between phases, so while that didn’t affect his creative process, his recent interviews make it clear these Guardians are not the same team fans last saw inThor: Love and Thunder. Of course, the Christmas special is only the preamble to the Guardians' third and final movie, which will also see Gunn depart Marvel Studios to assume his new role as the head of the DC Universe.
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While speaking withComicBook.com’s Phase Zero, Gunn stated that one of his favorite parts of working back-to-back on theGuardians of the Galaxy SpecialandVol. 3was “being able to introduce elements into the movie that I don’t have to then explain at the beginning [ ofGuardians Vol. 3] such as Cosmo the Spacedog or the fact that they live in the Head of Knowhere.” Gunn even mentioned their new spaceship, the Bowie, which consists of a four-story set. Ironically, David Bowie didn’t make the cut when Gunn chose the tracks that would make up theGuardians of the Galaxy Holiday Specialsoundtrack, which he also recently shared with fans.
Knowhere happens to be an important location in the MCU that was featured in bothGuardians of the Galaxyfilms,Thor: The Dark World, andAvengers: Infinity War. It’s also literally the head of a Celestial, a group of beings thoroughly explored inEternalsbut whose fate is a big question heading towards Phase Five. More importantly, Gunn’s insistence on using theGuardians of the Galaxy Holiday Specialas a storytelling tool to introduce new characters likeCosmo the Space Dogshould be enough to make it a must-watch event.
Another aspect Gunn has not shied away from is thatGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3is a very emotional film, mainly due to the plotdiving deeper into Rocket Raccoon’s backstory. More than anything, early reviews ofThe Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Specialconsistently call it a hilarious lighthearted adventure that’s just perfect to ignite the holiday spirit with Marvel Studios' funniest cast.
Against all odds, Gunn has helped turn theGuardians of the Galaxyinto one of the MCU’s most beloved franchises. They even havetheir own well-received Marvel video game. Not a bad way to close off a trilogy by any means.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Specialis now available on Disney Plus.
