James Gunn has released an original Christmas song for the The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.Gunn posted a picture of himself alongside the alternative country band Old 97's to commemorate the release of "I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)." The track appears in the imminently arriving GotG Holiday Special. The MCU director recalled his songwriting experience with Rhett Miller, singer for the Old 97's, and considered the band's involvement in the Holiday Special some of the "most fun days on set ever."
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special's Musical Connection
In addition to the Old 97's, Footloose's Kevin Bacon will lead a musical number in the upcoming Holiday Special. Previously, Bacon was name-dropped several times throughout Guardians of the Galaxy due to Star-Lord's admiration for him. "I love to sing, I love to play, James sent me that song and I thought it was a really cool song," Bacon said. "It's very hard to come up with a new idea for a Christmas song but The Old '97s cut this really cool Christmas song and I got to sing it with them, they're actually in the band in alien make-up, so I had nothing but fun."
In the Holiday Special, Mantis and Drax attempt to kidnap the Friday the 13th actor, who stars as himself, as the perfect Christmas present for Star-Lord. Following Bacon's involvement, Gunn labeled the actor his favorite character in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Bacon's role in the Holiday Special is brief, it's unclear if he will star in any other future MCU projects.
With the excitement of Gunn's favorite MCU character joining the project, the acclaimed filmmaker is beyond proud of his work on the GotG Holiday Special. "The Holiday Special is the greatest thing I've ever done in my life," Gunn explained. "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."
While creating the Holiday Special came easy for Gunn, the director recalled the difficulty of constructing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 compared to the Christmas-themed project. He considered working on Vol. 3 to be "torture in every way" due to the drastic differences between the two films. "It's a big movie, and it's so different from the special because the special is so wacky and insane," Gunn said.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special premieres on Disney+ on Nov. 25, 2022. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 releases in theaters on May 5, 2023.
Source: Twitter, Spotify