The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special writer-director James Gunn recently revealed that the upcoming standalone show is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe project with no villain.
Gunn confirmed this key detail in an interview with Variety while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special's overlapping film shoots. "It was really easy [to shoot both projects at once] and it stayed easy throughout and that was great because Vol. 3 is actually very emotional," he said. "We shot them both simultaneously, so shooting Vol. 3 for a few days, which was tough going, and then having a day off to shoot this show was fun. Because the stakes on this were low. It was just goofy. One thing that’s cool about it is there’s no bad guy in this one. There haven’t been any Marvel stories that I can remember where there hasn't been a bad guy of some type."
The festive-themed Marvel Studios Special Presentation's villain-free approach certainly hasn't hurt its critical reception. Early Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special reviews are overwhelmingly positive, with critics praising its sentimental tone and callbacks to established Christmas storytelling tropes. At least one reviewer also commended the development of Mantis and actor Pom Klementieff's performance in the role, while Kevin Bacon's turn as a fictionalized version of himself was also warmly received.
GotG Holiday Special's New Awesome Mix
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special's soundtrack garnered considerable kudos as well. Gunn previously confirmed that the special would continue the franchise's "Awesome Mix" tradition, receiving its own curated compilation playlist of Yuletide-themed tunes. The filmmaker also announced that The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special would include an original Christmas song, which he subsequently shared on Twitter ahead of the one-off show's release. The track is titled "I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)" and is performed by alternative country band Old 97's.
Gunn co-wrote the song with Old 97's lead vocalist Rhett Miller and said that filming the band's performance ranked among "the most fun" he'd ever had on a set. Gunn also revealed in an earlier interview that The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was itself born out of on-set frivolity, as he first pitched the idea as a joke while shooting Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. "We all had a laugh and we thought it would be great... and then they wrote it like three days," he said.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special premieres on Disney+ on Nov. 25, 2022.
Source: Variety