Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Includes Subtle Holiday Special Easter Egg

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now in theaters and while the eagerly awaited film from James Gunn concludes his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and serves as a fitting conclusion to the team’s story, it also is packed with various Easter eggs. As is the case with many if not all Marvel Cinematic Universe projects, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 contains nods and references to not just the comics, but to the greater MCU as well — and that includes The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 included a subtle references to the Disney+ special, and it’s pretty hilarious.

Warning: Spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 beyond this point.

In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The Guardians find themselves facing off with the High Evolutionary in an effort to gain the necessary override codes that will allow the heroes to give Rocket — who was gravely injured when Adam Warlock attacked Knowhere — lifesaving medical treatment. The story reveals Rocket’s origin story, but also sees each of the Guardians deal a bit more with their own experiences and issues. For Peter Quill/Star-Lord, that means finally facing having never returned to Earth where is grandfather is likely still alive. After Rocket is saved and the High Evolutionary is defeated, Peter decides to finally return home to deal with his past, which takes him to his grandfather’s door.

Peter has a happy reunion with his grandfather and it’s in the post-credits scene, Peter is seen having breakfast with his grandfather. The pair are talking while Peter eats cereal and his grandfather reads a local newspaper and it’s on the front page of that newspaper where we get a subtle and hilarious Easter egg for the holiday special. There’s a headline on the paper that reads “Alien Abduction: Kevin Bacon Tells All!” It’s a reference to the events of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special which saw Drax and Mantis kidnap Kevin Bacon in a well-meaning, but misguided, attempt to get Peter a Christmas present.

What are critics saying about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?

Gunn’s third and final Guardians film is officially certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie is currently up on the review site with an 81% critics score after 200 reviews. ComicBook.com‘s Patrick Cavanaugh gave the movie a 4 out of 5 and called it “cathartic” and “emotional.” You can read some more reactions to the new Marvel film here.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently in theaters. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is streaming on Disney+.

Did you catch this clever and subtle Easter egg? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!