The first reactions for the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special are in, calling James Gunn’s holiday adventure hilarious and "heartwarmingly festive". The movie is the first Christmas Special set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is expected to bridge the events of Avengers: Endgame and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.Gunn used Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) connection to Earth to explore 1980s pop culture and music production in the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Now, Peter’s origins will play a more significant role in the Guardian's adventures as the team of cosmic defenders journey back to Earth for Christmas. In the special presentation, the Guardians, specifically Mantis and Drax, will bring something special from Earth to cheer Peter up after Gamorra’s (Zoe Saldana) death in Endgame — specifically in the form of Hollywood icon Kevin Bacon. Besides showing fans what happened to the Guardians after Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder, the Holiday Special will also introduce new characters to the MCU, including Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’s Maria Bakalova as the voice of Cosmo the space dog, and we are all very excited to see what surprises Gunn has in store for us with the Holiday Special. Maybe we’ll even learn who The Suicide Squad’s Daniela Melchior, and Superstore’s Nico Santos are playing in the MCU. The Holiday Special also stars Dave Bautista as Drax, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Raccoon, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, and Vin Diesel as Groot’s voice.
What Critics Think of Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special?
Collider's own Steve Weintraub shared that the Holiday Special isn't pushing the next MCU movie or show, it's just Drax and Mantis having fun.
Other Collider staff members, including Maggie Lovitt, Ross Bonaime, and Robert Taylor, said they were "genuinely moved," and called it "delightfully weird".
Similarly, Brandon Davis focused on how the film doesn't necessarily tie into the larger MCU, but there's enough to make hardcore fans excited.
Other critics focused on how much fun the film was.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will be released on Disney+ on November 25. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters on May 5, 2023. Check out the Holiday Special’s trailer below: