James Gunn Introducing Multiple New Marvel Characters
Currently hard at work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, it’s hard to believe that James Gunn already has his hands busy with another project.
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While some balk at the idea of holiday specials, filmmaker James Gunn greets them with open arms. After facing a slew of questions following an interview with RadioTimes in which Gunn referred to his upcoming The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special project as “the greatest thing” he has ever created, Gunn dropped some information that may draw more to his holiday loving boat. Taking to his Twitter to respond to a fan, Gunn told his interested followers that his Disney+ special would introduce “more than one great new MCU” character. While the The Suicide Squad director left it at that, it was enough to get our wheels spinning as to who these new characters could be.
Currently hard at work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, it’s hard to believe that James Gunn already has his hands busy with another project. While it may seem like a giant undertaking, the director previously revealed that he had been dreaming the special up for several years. Because of this, when his idea was finally given the green light, Gunn was able to crank the script out in record time. During that same interview with RadioTimes, Gunn revealed that the entire team was obsessed with the special and that it was “unlike anything that anyone’s ever seen before.” And, based on what we know about the whacky cosmic traveling Guardians, we can believe it. Out of all the characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the wild gang sailing through the stars definitely bring the most comedic relief.
While it will stand to be seen where on the timeline the James Gunn holiday special will pick up, we sure hope that it involves some characters we’ll be seeing in Thor: Love and Thunder. While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 won’t be coming out for another year, it’s common knowledge that the whole team will at least appear in the upcoming Thor centered film. When we last left them, the space-based crew were heading back towards the cosmos with the God of Thunder at their side. Judging by this alone, we’re planning to catch a peek of them when Love and Thunder hits screens this summer.
And with the holiday special releasing five months prior to James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the new characters he’s teasing could very well appear in that film as well. After the new Guardians movie faced constant push backs due to scheduling problems, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and other issues, it’s great to also keep in mind that neither Disney+ nor Gunn have any concerns with the special not making its way to the streamer in time for the holiday season.
When we think of holiday based programming, the most iconic one of all time, the Star Wars Holiday Special, comes to mind. What was mainly a flop among fans and critics alike, sitting with a critic rating of 27% on Rotten Tomatoes, turned out to be a formative piece for James Gunn. While sharing his excitement on Twitter for the Guardians special, the director revealed that he “unironically loved the Star Wars Holiday Special as a kid.” Hopefully for Gunn as well as for us, his special will prove to be a step (or several) up from the director’s beloved Star Wars Holiday Special.
