Santa Drax? Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special Coming

Get ready for a Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, coming to the Disney+ streaming service in 2022.

By Rick Gonzales | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special

Disney’s Investor Day has given fans a wealth of information. Star Wars news, superhero news, and now, just in time for the holidays, we have holiday news to pass along. Get ready for a Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, coming to the Disney+ streaming service in 2022.

Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige was a busy man making all the announcements, the Holiday Special being one of them. Feige’s announcement of the Holiday Special included the news that writer/director James Gunn will be performing those same roles for the special. Gunn is the mastermind behind the first Guardians of the Galaxy and then its follow-up, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

This is a dramatic turn for the embattled Gunn, who just two short years ago was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy 3 by Disney based on what was deemed “offensive tweets” from Gunn going as far back as 2009 and 2010. At the time, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn released this statement concerning the firing of Gunn, “The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values, and we have severed our business relationship with him.”

James Gunn

The Guardians of the Galaxy director responded to the firing and backlash he had received at the time, “Many people who have followed my career know, when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo. As I have discussed publicly many times, as I’ve developed as a person, so has my work and my humor.” He also added, “It’s not to say I’m better, but I am very, very different than I was a few years ago; today I try to root my work in love and connection and less in anger. My days saying something just because it’s shocking and trying to get a reaction are over.”

Gunn released a full apology in a statement and then received major backing from his friends from Guardians of the Galaxy, most notably Dave Bautista, who knew that backing Gunn could have a major impact on films he’d be offered. It made him no never mind though. “That’s just never going to be me, and that goes back to the feeling that I only need so much. I only need a certain level of security. I don’t need to make $20 million a film. I don’t even want $20 million a film. I wouldn’t know what to do with it,” Bautista told the Tampa Bay Times.

Bautista’s efforts, as well as others, worked. Gunn is back in the Marvel fold and has picked up the reins once again on Guardians of the Galaxy 3. In fact, once the third Guardians goes in front of the cameras, the plan is to film the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special at the same time. So the plan for the moment, unless big bad COVID has more to say, is to have Star-Lord, Drax, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot deliver some holiday shenanigans during the 2022 holiday season before Gunn releases the crew to audiences around the world with Guardians 3 in 2023.

Marvel Studios was quick to make their Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special announcement, shortly after Feige made his.

Let’s hope that this Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special doesn’t come close to resembling that other infamous holiday special, that 1978 treat, the Star Wars Holiday Special. Chances are, with Gunn at the helm, fans will have little to worry about.