How to Watch the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is here to wish you a merry Groot-mas. The 40 plus-minute Marvel Studios Special Presentation checks in with Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and his cosmic crew after the events of Avengers: Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder but before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which moviegoers won't unwrap until May 5th, 2023. In the spirit of the 1978 CBS Star Wars Holiday Special, the Christmas-themed television special from filmmaker James Gunn features celebrity cameos, an original track by The Old '97s, and a merry mix of Christmas songs curated by writer-director Gunn.

Below, read on to find out how to watch The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and everything else you need to know about the prologue to next summer's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

When Does The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Come Out?

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special releases after midnight on Friday, November 25th.

Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Runtime

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special runs for 42 minutes, coming in shorter than the 54-minute Werewolf by Night special released during Halloween.

Where to Watch The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is streaming for all subscribers Friday, November 25th, on Disney+. The streaming service is no longer offering free Disney Plus trials, so new subscribers will have to sign up at $7.99/month or $79.99/year for the annual subscription. Those prices will increase when the Disney+ with ads plan launches in December.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Cast and Synopsis

Per the official synopsis: "On a mission to make Christmas unforgettable for Quill, the Guardians head to Earth in search of the perfect present." The cast includes Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Dave Bautista as Drax, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, The Old 97's as an alien band, Michael Rooker as Yondu, and Kevin Bacon as the MCU version of himself.

Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Soundtrack Tracklist

Featuring an all-new original song written by Gunn and performed by The Old 97's and Kevin Bacon, the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special tracklist is as follows:

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special currently has a critics' score of 89%. Read ComicBook's spoiler-free review.

Kevin Bacon's Guardians of the Galaxy Cameo, Explained

The Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas special reunites Gunn with Bacon, who appeared in Gunn's 2010 superhero comedy Super. 

In 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, the Earth-born Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord, tells the Zehoberei assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana) about the 1984 film Footloose. "In it, a great hero named Kevin Bacon teaches an entire city full of people with sticks up their butts that dancing," Quill explains. "It's the greatest thing there is."

Footloose and Kevin Bacon are referenced again in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, when Thor (Chris Hemsworth) tells the Guardians he's one of the Avengers — a team of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

"Like Kevin Bacon?" the alien Mantis asks.
"He may be on the team," says Thor. "I don't know. I haven't been there in a while."

Later in Infinity War, when Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) land on the planet Titan with the Guardians, Drax references "the dance-off to save the universe" from Ronan (Lee Pace).

"Like in Footloose, the movie?" asks a puzzled Spider-Man.
"Exactly like Footloose," Star-Lord says. "Is it still the greatest movie in history?"
Spider-Man tells the Earth-born Quill: "It never was."

In the Holiday Special, Drax and Mantis visit Earth to find the "legendary" Kevin Bacon and present him as a Christmas gift to Star-Lord.

Watch The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Trailer

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is streaming November 25th on Disney+.