Just as Marvel Studios is starting to clear up the landscape for the MCU’s next couple of phases, the ever-talkative James Gunn has revealed the upcoming The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is actually meant to act as an epilogue for Phase Four, before completing the Guardians’ film trilogy next year.
During Marvel Studios’ panel at San Diego Comic-Con, it was revealed that the ongoing Phase Four would end this November 11 with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which happens to release shortly before the Guardians’ planned Holiday Special, set to drop on Disney Plus in December. Despite Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 showing up at Comic-Con with an unfinished trailer, the special could help bridge the gap between the Guardians' last appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder and their final movie.
That is because, among other things, in typical Gunn fashion the writer-director took to Twitter to answer some of fans’ most pressing questions about the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, including full confirmation that its story will be canonical within the grand context of the MCU. In that sense, Gunn’s original tweet came as a quote response to another fan’s question of where the Holiday Special stood if it was right in the middle of the Black Panther sequel and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Nevertheless, since Gunn is always happy to share his thoughts with people over on Twitter, he also admitted he wasn’t even aware that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was part of Phase Five, just like everyone else, meaning this information did not play into his creative process when writing the screenplay. Among the topics that could be addressed in the special is where the Guardians took off after saying their goodbyes to Thor and what they’ve been up to.
The leaked footage for the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 trailer contains some images of the MCU’s new villain, Adam Warlock, as well as Gamora’s return in a strange encounter with Peter Quill, though perhaps it’s better not to go out looking for it since Gunn has stated the VFX work is far from finished. Another interesting topic ahead of the Guardians’ Holiday Special is what kind of growth spurt Groot experiences since he was still in his teenage form in Love and Thunder, whereas Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 probably has him in his adult form.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is scheduled for release in December 2023.