Guardians of the Galaxy Helmer Confirms Holiday Special Is Phase 4

By Adam Barnhardt

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is nearly through with Phase 4, with Kevin Feige confirming at San Diego Comic-Con last month the phase of projects would end with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in November. The comments from the Marvel Studios boss left fans wondering about the status of the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, also set to come out this year.

Now, Guardians helmer James Gunn confirms the Disney+ special is also in the MCU's Phase 4, even though it may act as an epilogue of sorts. Gunn confirmed the news Monday in response to a fan's inquiry on Twitter.

While at Comic-Con, Gunn said the special was a "joy" to work on, following it up by saying Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 may be his favorite film.

The Holiday Special was pure joy," Gunn replied. "Vol 3 was very difficult for a billion reasons, beginning with its size and complexity. It might be my favorite movie but it probably wasn't my favorite shooting experience, other than the love I have for the whole team." 

During Marvel's mega-panel in Hall H that same weekend, the filmmaker confirmed the threequel will, in fact, be the last time these Guardians will all be together.

"I think it's really been about telling one story between the three films with a couple of sideways adventures," Gunn said during Vol. 3's portion of Marvel's San Diego Comic-Con panel. "But I think it really is about the one story. This is the final arc that we began at the very beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy, with Peter Quill, with Rocket, seeing where Nebula goes, and even Kraglin, who started out as saying one or two lines in the first movie and is now a main Guardian of the Galaxy."

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is due to hit theaters May 5, 2023 while the Holiday Special has yet to set a release date.

What other Guardians characters would you like to see spinoffs of? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!

0comments
Start the Conversation

of