At Marvel, James Gunn is essentially doing a goodbye tour. The new co-CEO and co-chairman of DC Studios are hard at work finishing up his final projects with one comic book company before joining their primary rivals.
Both of his two most recent Marvel films are audacious, ambitious, and quintessentially Gunn. Before his trilogy’s concluding film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, arrives in May, the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will be released on November 25. For many filmmakers, the difficulty of inserting a lighthearted comedy set around Christmastime before a somber emotional epic could seem overwhelming, but Gunn maintains it came effortlessly.
“To be quite honest, the script for “Holiday Special” just sort of came to me in a few hours. It was extremely simple,” remarked Gunn. “Shooting it was simple in every way. While Vol. 3 was pure misery in every aspect, pulling performances out of individuals was easy in every way. Making a holiday unique was only the seed of the concept; I adore the season, Christmas cookies, and spending time with my family while exchanging gifts. It’s that time of year again—my favorite.”
“When I was younger, I adored both the Star Wars holiday special and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. One of the all-time great cartoons, in my opinion, is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. So I thought it was both a humorous idea and something I wanted to do to produce a holiday special with the Guardians,” added Gunn.
That is not to mean that Gunn has lost focus on Vol. 3 for the upcoming year. “Due to how strange and absurd it is, it is a huge film that differs greatly from the special. Although it was a lot of fun to make, the movie is extremely emotional. Therefore, it’s progressing well. I’m still working on a tonne of visual effect shots in addition to the enormous score that John Murphy and I are creating. These are the issues I’ve been concentrating on the most recently.”
On May 5, 2023, the third installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy film series will be released. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will be available on Disney+ beginning November 25.
