The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Star Pom Klementieff Shares Her Favorite Part About Playing Mantis and Reacts To Her Character’s Big Reveal

Pom Klementieff was first introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and was also seen in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Thor: Love and Thunder. This week, fans got to see a whole new side of Mantis in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which follows Mantis and Drax (Dave Bautista) as they travel to Earth to kidnap Kevin Bacon as a present for Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt). Many fans have praised Klementieff as the standout performer in the special, and they’re eager to see her again in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Recently, the actor had a chat with Collider and she revealed her favorite part about playing Mantis.

“It’s just working with James Gunn,” Klementieff shared. “He wrote such interesting and layered characters and I get to play with it, and be weird, and I think creating something different and that’s exciting.” During the chat, Klementieff also shared what she was most excited for fans to see in the special. Warning: Spoilers Ahead! 

The special confirmed the longstanding theory that Mantis is Peter’s half-sister. “I’m excited about the big reveal at the end. It reinforces the connection between Mantis and Star-Lord, and it’s really cute. So I’m excited for people to see that. And also it’s like it’s secret that I had to keep for myself for years. So I’m relieved that it’s going to be out there and some fans speculated about it already, so it’s cool.”

How Did Kevin Bacon Join The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special? 

During an interview with Marvel.com, director James Gunn talked about asking Bacon to do the special and the actor revealed he agreed to appear as himself without even reading the script.

“When I started writing this and I knew that they were going to go try to get one of Peter Quill’s heroes as a gift, of course, Kevin Bacon was the first person I thought of and the one that’s been mentioned the most,” Gunn shared with a laugh. “That was something that was a benefit of [the special] from the beginning. I called up Kevin and was like, do you want to do this ridiculous thing? And he just laughs his butt off and agrees was great.”

Bacon added, “When James reached out to me about the Holiday Special, I don’t even remember when he first spoke to me if he said I was actually playing myself or not, but I didn’t even need to see the script. I said yes right away, I’m in, no questions asked.”

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.