Although the character looked more realistic than in his previous appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, James Gunn confirmed that Groot was still entirely CGI in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.Gunn was asked on Twitter if The Holiday Special's take on the wooden warrior was practical due to how believable his movements and texture were. As a reply, Gunn simply tweeted back, "All CG."RELATED: Rocket's Best Gift in the GotG Holiday Special Gains Some Bonkers Context

This isn't the only bit of Groot-related information Gunn recently shared, as the filmmaker also once again settled a debate as to whether or not this is the same Groot from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. "Nope. That's not even physically possible. He's much broader than OG Groot ever was. He's his progeny & a totally different Groot," Gunn stated.

How the Holiday Special Came to Be

As for the special itself, Gunn revealed that it was something he had wanted to do even before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opened in theaters. "I brought it up to Marvel while we were in post-production on that film," Gunn recalled. "That's when [Marvel Studios President and Chief Creative Officer] Kevin [Feige] was like, 'Oh, we should actually do that.' I'm a big Christmas guy. I love all the Christmas specials that I saw as a kid and wanted to do something like that. But I also wanted to bring the anarchy of the Guardians to that." This was previously revealed by Gunn in a behind-the-scenes featurette for the project, where he said that it was written in less than a week. Feige himself would state in the same featurette that The Holiday Special was the first idea Marvel Studios had for Disney+.

RELATED: Chris Pratt Shows the GotG Holiday Special's Christmas Wonderland in BTS Clip

Beyond its production history, Gunn commented on the special earlier this year. "The holiday special is the greatest thing I've ever done in my life," he said. "It's totally ridiculous, and every day we can't believe that we're making it. We all completely love it. It is unlike anything that anyone's ever seen before. I can't wait for people to see it."

Gunn later remarked that The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was a much easier task to work on than the Marvel Studios franchise's forthcoming swan song, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which he called "torture in every way." Gunn also noted that Vol. 3 differs from Holiday Special due to the latter project being "so wacky and insane" and the former being "so emotional."

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is now streaming on Disney+. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 releases in theaters on May 5, 2023.

Source: Twitter