Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: Marvel Releases New Poster Featuring Kevin Bacon

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is now streaming on Disney+, and it’s been a hit with critics and audiences alike. Currently, Marvel’s newest “Special Presentation” is up on Rotten Tomatoes with a 93% critics score and an 89% audience score. ComicBook.com‘s Nathaniel Brail gave the James Gunn-directed special a 4 out of 5 and called it “a good watch for the holidays.” The special follows Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) as they decide to take a trip to Earth and kidnap Kevin Bacon as a present for Peter Quill (Chris Pratt). When the trailer for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was released last month, fans were delighted to learn that Bacon would be appearing as himself, and now there’s a brand new poster featuring the Footloose star.

“Marvel Studios’ Special Presentation: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is now streaming only on @disneyplus,” Marvel shared on Instagram. You can check out the poster below:

“I’ve been researching this role for 64 years now,” Bacon recently joked to ET. “I’ve done quite a few things where I played myself, both in films, but also in commercial spots and stuff like that. And I take my work really, really seriously, but I don’t take myself really, really seriously. So to be able to poke fun at yourself… it’s just a blast. I love this kind of heightened idea of what my life is and like, for instance, the house that I have, I can guarantee you that my house doesn’t look anything like that house.”

Is The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Required Viewing For Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?

During a recent interview with ComicBook.com‘s Phase Zero host, Brandon Davis, Gunn was asked if the holiday special is required viewing before the movie.

“Well, I’m always trying to be balanced with these things, so I think it’s wonderful,” Gunn explained. “People should see the Holiday Special. You’re obviously gonna learn a lot about where the Guardians have been in the past few years. You know, you’re gonna see how they now inhabit Knowhere. They’ve got a new ship called the Bowie. They’ve got a dog [who] is part of their crew now who has telekinesis named Cosmo. So where you get to learn all that, and then there’s a couple of bigger pieces of spoiler-y lore. You’re gonna learn all of those things. In a way, the Holiday Special was a Trojan Horse for me to sneak in stuff that becomes important in Volume 3, so I don’t have to spend a lot of time at the beginning of that movie explaining it.”

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is now streaming on Disney+, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. is set to be released in theatres on May 23, 2023.