Former Guardians of the Galaxy Star to Return in New Holiday Special

Marvel Studios and Disney+ have released the first official look at their next Special Presentation, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and it with it confirmed some surprising details about the next chapter of these fan-favorites. Not only does the new trailer reveal how Groot has grown since Thor: Love and Thunder but also confirmed none other than Kevin Bacon will be appearing as himself. Disney’s official press release for the special confirmed the return of a key cast member to the series with the reveal that Michael Rooker is confirmed to appear in the Guardians Holiday Special.

As Marvel fans recall, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 saw Michael Rooker’s fan-favorite character Yondu die, with a Ravager funeral taking place at the film’s conclusion. It’s worth noting that Rooker’s involvement, while confirmed, doesn’t specifically mention that he’ll be reprising his Yondu role for the special, one could guess that with the inclusion of Kevin Bacon as himself that Rooker may have a meta-appearance as himself as well. More likely though there’s also the chance of a Yondu-flashback with a young Star-Lord who explains his interest in the Christmas holiday. In any event, Rooker will be making his MCU return very soon in some form.

What is The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special about?

Set between the last time that we saw the Guardians in Thor: Love and Thunder and next year’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the Holiday Special follows the titular Marvel team “who on a mission to make Christmas unforgettable for Quill, head to Earth in search of the perfect present.” The special features the return of Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Dave Bautista as Drax, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, plus Sean Gunn as Kraglin.

“The Holiday Special was pure joy,” writer/director James Gunn previously said. “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.”  

When does The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special release?

With the official trailer for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Marvel Studios confirmed that the special will arrive on Friday, November 25, premiering the day after Thanksgiving and streaming exclusively on Disney+. November will see the arrival of a ton of other original content on Disney+ in addition to The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special including the stop-motion animated Mickey Saves Christmas, The Hip Hop Nutcracker, the first four episodes of The Santa Clauses, and the premiere of the Willow TV series. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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