Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Gives the Holiday Special's Post-Credits Scene a New Meaning

Late last year, Marvel Studios released the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+, bringing the joy of the season to fans everywhere and helping set up the story for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. We learned in the special that the Guardians had taken over Knowhere as their new base of operations, and that Mantis is actually Peter's biological half-sister. Now that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is in theaters, and fans seen how James Gunn's tale concludes, the post-credits scene from the popular holiday special actually takes on a whole new meaning.

WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3! Continue reading at your own risk...

If you recall, the post-credits scene for the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is a very short one, and it features just three characters. Rocket and Cosmo are decorating Groot like a Christmas tree, but things go awry when Groot puts his arms down, causing a bunch of ornaments to fall on the ground. This prompts Rocket to say, "Great, now we've gotta have another special."

This just seemed like a fun bit at the time of its release, perhaps setting up another Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. What's interesting now, after seeing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, is the realization that none of the other members of the team are in the scene. Peter, Drax, Nebula, and Mantis are all absent from the decorating extravaganza. That's because they're no longer members of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

The end of Guardians 3 sees the team split up and go their separate ways, at least for the most part. Peter returns to Earth to spend time with his grandpa, Mantis goes off on an adventure to find herself, and Nebula takes charge of Knowhere, focusing on building out the city and enlisting Drax's help to watch over the people. That leaves Rocket as the new leader of the Guardians team.

A post-credits scene for Volume 3 shows Rocket's new team in action, with Groot being the only other original member still with him. The rest of the team includes Cosmo, Kraglin, Adam Warlock, and Phyla-Vell. 

Rocket's line in the Holiday Special scene now takes on a couple of meanings. Not only does there need to be another special because Groot "ruined Christmas," as Cosmo says, but also because there's an entirely new team of Guardians.

What did you think of the new direction for the Guardians at the end of Volume 3? Let us know in the comments!