Did Another Marvel Character Get Confirmed for Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special?

Did another Marvel Cinematic Universe just get confirmed for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special? It sure seems that way after James Gunn’s latest social media post! Gunn (who is always keeping in touch with fans on social media) shared the joy of a nice wrap gift he received from the crew that’s helping him with the massive undertaking of filming both Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, as well as the Holiday Special. Well, the Gunn’s new wrap gift was a custom set of Guardians-themed Christmas ornaments, and one of them certainly illustrates a Marvel character we didn’t expect to see! 

If you can’t spot him in the pictures above, it seems like Cosmo the space dog will be making an appearance in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special! 

Cosmo is a character that appears in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy comic book series; he was a test animal for the Soviet Space Program that ended up being mutated by cosmic rays into a sentient dog with powerful psychic abilities. He eventually became the Chief of Security for the Knowhere station. There he helped the Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, and other Marvel Cosmic heroes in the big events and battles that have taken place. 

Cosmo got his live-action debut in the MCU during the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. The space dog was one of the pet attractions that The Collector (Benicio Del Toro) kept as part of his collection, in his base of operations at Knowhere. When The Collector’s assistant Carina blew up the base with the Power Stone, Cosmo was freed. The dog was last seen giving comfort to The Collector by licking his face amidst the rubble of his collection. Howard the Duck did not approve. Cosmo’s image also appeared in the end credits of GotGv2, and he made an appearance in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy video game, as well. 

Up until now, Cosmo has been used as a glorified Easter egg in the MCU – it will be interesting to see if The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special makes more significant use of him. Gunn has made it clear that The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will very much be part of MCU canon:

 “😂 I’m being asked this a lot. Yes, the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is real, it’s something that @MarvelStudios & I have been cooking up for years. The story is as crazy & fun as can be, & it’s live-action & in the MCU. 🧑🏻‍🎄 OH MAN I WISH I COULD TELL YOU MORE!”

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Special will star Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, and Pom Klementieff all, reprising their roles from the film series. It will stream on Disney+ sometime in 2022.