The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is upon us…almost. At least we have the new trailer to salivate over while we wait for the November 19 premiere.

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For all intents and purposes, this looks like your usual Christmas-themed affair. Apparently, the Guardians are in need of the Christmas spirit, so they head down to Earth to join the festivities. Of course, Star-Lord is mourning the loss of Gamora, who is both gone and not gone after the weird time hijinks of Avengers: Endgame. The solution to his sorrow is, of course, to drag him to some sort of intergalactic Christmas party. 

Remember all those teases about the most powerful character in the MCU debuting in the Holiday Special?

I’m certain there’s more to come and more cameos and debuts yet to be seen, but it would appear that the all-powerful being is none other than the great hero from myth and legend, Kevin Bacon. This being a Christmas special, there’s little doubt that we’ll see Santa Claus in some capacity, so he still could be the mystery man. As I have pointed out here on the blog, Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick is an omega-level mutant who is part of the canonical Marvel-616 Universe. Let’s not put it past James Gunn to throw Jesus Christ in the mix, either. 

Judging by the trailer, the real meat of the story will come from Drax and Mantis’ plans to kidnap Kevin Bacon. I am assuming that’s part of the “let’s cheer up Peter” plot since he has broadcast his love for Bacon and Footloose on two separate occasions. If anyone besides Gunn was behind the camera for this one, I would be highly skeptical. Since it’s him, the Holiday Special should be seriously entertaining. 

The best part of the footage is finally seeing a fully grown Groot. After seeing Baby Groot and Teenage Groot, fans have been ready for an adult tree-man for years now. It appears we’ll finally get that just in time for the team’s grand sendoff in GOTG Vol. 3, so enjoy this moment of levity before the tears start to flow.

That’s right, GOTG fans—this is all part of the Guardians’ farewell tour.

Unlike the McRib or KISS, this actually will be the final time we see many of these faces. Gunn has said this will be his last film for Marvel Studios, so he’s officially wrapping up his GOTG saga. Then there’s Bradley Cooper, the famous voice of Rocket Raccoon, who says he will be exclusively focusing on projects that he’s writing and/or directing. 

Next up is Drax, Dave Bautista, who has been open about his Marvel retirement for several months. There’s no word on the rest of the cast, and we can assume that Chris Pratt at least will be sticking around for more adventures. In fact, we’ll likely see another version of the Guardians a few years after GOTG 3, probably with Star-Lord at the helm. However, he has not made it clear one way or the other where he stands as far as his Marvel future. 

Just when you thought you could laugh and enjoy a simple, lighthearted Christmas special trailer, reality sets in and ruins it all. All you fellow GOTG fans, enjoy this one before the impending doom that is GOTG 3.

I’m sure we’ll all need our tissues before that one is over.

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