One of the more exciting announcements to come out of Marvel Studios last year was the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed that, for years, Guardians of the Galaxy writer/director James Gunn had been pitching him on making a holiday special featuring the Guardians characters. And now, with Marvel Studios producing original content for the streaming service Disney+, there’s finally a perfect outlet for it.
Collider’s own Steve Weintraub recently spoke with Gunn for an interview during the press day for his new Warner Bros. film The Suicide Squad, and during the conversation Gunn spoke a bit about what fans can expect from the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and when, exactly, this thing is going to be filmed.
With regards to what fans need to know, Gunn said the holiday special will serve as a primer of sorts before we see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3:
“It’s in-canon, it’s about the Guardians, you’re gonna learn stuff that you need to learn before Volume 3, and it’s great I’m really happy with it.”
Production on Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is finally set to get underway in November in Georgia, and Gunn confirmed that the holiday special will be filmed at the same time using some of the same sets from the movie:
“I’m gonna film it at the same time as the movie. I’m using a lot of the same sets, the same actors obviously, so we’re filming simultaneously with the film but it’s gonna have to be edited and finished sooner.”
Indeed, the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special – which Gunn said will be under 40 minutes in length – is due to be released on Disney+ in December 2022, while Guardians of the Galaxy 3 hits theaters in May 2023. So this new short-form story with the Guardians as written and directed by Gunn will serve as an appetizer of sorts for the new movie.
We don’t know much more about the holiday special other than the fact that the main cast from Guardians 3 – including Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, and Pom Klementieff – are due to star.
Look for more from our interview with Gunn on Collider soon.