Trivia / The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

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• Absurdly Short Production Time: While James Gunn had thought about a a Holiday Special for several years, the actual production was fast tracked to coincide with the filming of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. James Gunn wrote the initial script in just a few hours. The special was filmed in the span of 2 months and would premiered as planned in December 2022, just 8 months after Production wrapped.
• Awesome, Dear Boy:
  • James Gunn had constantly clamored Kevin Feige to sign off on a holiday special for the Guardians for a long time, and was excited when he was finally given the green light to do so.
  • Kevin Bacon signed onto the special without reading a script simply because the idea sounded fun to him. He was also very happy to be able to show off his singing talents once again while shooting it.
• Billing Displacement: Despite the special focusing primarily on Mantis and Drax, with the rest of the Guardians completely absent from the second act, Dave Bautista and Pom Klementieff are billed second and fourth, respectively. The spots above them are filled by Chris Pratt (first) and Karen Gillan (third).
• The Cast Showoff: While a bit less known for his singing career than acting, Kevin Bacon is regardless half of the country duo "The Bacon Brothers", and given that this is a James Gunn production, it goes without saying that seeing him sing was inevitable.
• Descended Creator: James Gunn provided the VFX reference for Groot during the first Christmas performance on Knowhere.
• Fake Russian: The Bulgarian Maria Bakalova gives Cosmo a Russian accent when she speaks.
• Inspiration for the Work: James Gunn unironically enjoyed The Star Wars Holiday Special as a child, and wanted to create something based on said special in the Guardians' world.
• The Other Darrin: Cosmo's physical portrayal is now done by dog actor Slate, rather than Fred the Dog from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and 2.
• Pop-Culture Urban Legends: Many people believed that Mark Hamill (who starred in The Star Wars Holiday Special, and previously had a public conversation with Gunn about the possibility of a cameo in the third Guardians of the Galaxy film) had made a cameo appearance at a bar in Knowhere, particularly since there's a patron there who looks eerily similar to him drinking some booze there, which the camera lingers on as if we're supposed to recognize him. Ultimately, Mark's son Nathan stated that the individual was not his father, and it was later confirmed that the man was an actor named Troy Beecham.
• Production Posse:
  • Aside from the returning cast and crew, Gunn brings Flula Borg and composer John Murphy with him from The Suicide Squad, with Murphy taking over music duties from original composer Tyler Bates.
  • Gunn also brings back Kevin Bacon, whom he directed in Super.
• Refitted for Sequel: Having Mantis revealed to be Peter's biological half-sister was originally part of a Deleted Scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. It finally comes into play in this special as a plot point.
• Same Voice Their Entire Life: Sean Gunn voices the younger, presumably teenage Kraglin seen in the animated flashbacks. Unlike in What If...? however, Kraglin's voice is slightly higher-pitched to emphasize his youth.
• Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer: Actress Kyra Sedgwick (and wife of Kevin Bacon) voiced a fictional version of herself in the special. She can be heard on the phone with Kevin Bacon.
• What Could Have Been: The special was originally conceived as being more action-packed, but Gunn opted to tone it down as he preferred to develop the more familial dynamic between the Guardians.
• Word of God: James Gunn confirmed in a tweet that Nebula travelled to Earth and ripped Bucky's arm off his body so she could gift it to Rocket in this special.
• You Sound Familiar: In the Japanese dub, Takehito Koyasu, as Kevin Bacon, previously voiced Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder.

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