The Guardians of the Galaxy Kidnap Kevin Bacon in the Trailer For Their Christmas Special
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There's nothing that says "Happy Holidays" quite like Kevin Bacon. On Oct. 25, Disney released the trailer for the brand-new "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special," which sees the return of many of our MCU faves. It's Marvel's second "Special Presentation" after October's Halloween special "Werewolf by Night." Director James Gunn has promised that the special, which looks to be full of festive hijinks, will lead right into the plot of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," which is scheduled to be released in May 2023. The special is the first appearance by the Guardians in the MCU since July's "Thor: Love and Thunder" and the first time they headline their own title since "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" was released way back in 2017.
In the trailer, the Guardians are worried that Peter Quill, aka Starlord (Chris Pratt), is still really depressed because Gamora (Zeo Saladaña) is gone. To cheer him up, Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) head to Planet Earth to get him the absolutely perfect Christmas present. They land on Starlord's hero: Kevin Bacon. Bacon appears as himself, running from the two Guardians. Gunn wrote on Twitter, "And, yes, when I said the #GotGHolidaySpecial was going to debut my new favorite MCU character, that favorite character is Kevin Bacon." He added in another tweet about the plot, "It's about as Christmasy as you can get."
Read on for everything we know about "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" and to watch the trailer.
"The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" Trailer
Marvel released the first trailer for "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" on Oct. 25. On Twitter, director Gunn called it "our holiday gift to you." In the special, the Guardians are still reeling from the loss of Gamora in "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame." They head to Planet Earth to shake up some holiday spirit — and to try to give Peter the gift of Kevin Bacon. From the trailer, it seems that the special will be jam-packed with holiday hijinks and alien exploits. Marvel's previous "Special Presentation," "Werewolf by Night," was about an hour long, and presumably this special will be the same.
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"The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" Cast
Most of the Guardians fans know and love are back for the special. Pratt plays Peter, Bautista plays Drax the Destroyer, and Klementieff plays Mantis. Bradley Cooper once again voices Rocket, and Vin Diesel is the voice of Groot. Groot appears much older than he was when we last saw him in "Love and Thunder" and is no longer a teenager. Gunn said on Twitter that fans started calling him "Swoll Groot" after seeing the teaser for "GOTG 3" at Comic-Con in July, so he started calling Groot that, too.
Karen Gillan is also back as Nebula and Sean Gunn (whose brother is the director) returns as Kraglin Obfonteri. Cosmo the Spacedog is also back, this time voiced and motion-acted by Maria Bakalova. And, of course, Bacon, who Starlord is obsessed with in the first movie, plays himself. Gunn joked on Twitter that within MCU continuity, Bacon stars in movies like "Footloose," "Cocktail," and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."
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"The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" Release Date
"The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" will stream on Disney+ on Nov. 25, which is Black Friday in the US. Some people don't consider it really the Christmas season until after Thanksgiving Day, so the special arrives just in time for the perfect seasonal viewing.