James Gunn has stated via Twitter that Guardians of the Galaxy: The Holiday Special will not just be a one-off special, but rather will fit into the overarching MCU plot. Gunn said that the Special “comes between Love & Thunder and #GotGVol3, with new stories & characters connected to the Guardians universe.” He also confirmed that the Holiday Special will have a new soundtrack, which has become a staple of the Guardians films.
Gunn also confirmed today that the Holiday Special wrapped shooting this week and that Guardians Vol. 3 will wrap shooting in about a week. The Guardians of the Galaxy: The Holiday Special is set to be released this December on Disney+, so it will be coming out between Thor: Love and Thunder on July 8, 2022, and Guardians of the Galaxy 3 in May 2023. Now, we know that the special will also fall in between those two projects in canon.
Gunn has said that there are elements of the Holiday Special that will be setting up Guardians Vol. 3, and has gone so far to say a new character will be introduced. It is unclear who this new character will be, although the best guess at the moment is Will Poulter‘s Adam Warlock, who was created by the Sovereign to destroy the Guardians. The Sovereign appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 with Elizabeth Debicki as leader Ayesha.
It’s currently unclear if the Holiday special has any tie-in with Thor: Love and Thunder, but the recently released first trailer confirmed that the Guardians will appear in the film. So, it is likely that there will be small elements introduced in Thor: Love and Thunder that will influence the Holiday special.
The Guardians of the Galaxy last appeared in Avengers: Endgame, which had a major impact on their dynamic. After the main MCU universe version of Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) was killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, an alternate-universe variant Gamora appeared in Endgame. This Gamora, however, is different from the original and doesn’t contain the original Gamora’s memories with the other Guardians. We can assume that the Holiday Special and Guardians Vol. 3 will reckon with the consequences of losing their original Gamora and gaining her new variant.
Guardians of the Galaxy: The Holiday Special is expected to release on Disney+ this December. Gillan, Saldaña, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper will all be returning for the special, as well as Guardians Vol. 3. Gunn is the writer and director on both projects. Check out Gunn’s post below:
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