Next week will bring the final Marvel Studios project of 2022, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. It will be the second Special Presentation created by Marvel, and while there aren’t any others announced, it would seem unlikely that it’ll be the last. It’s a new concept for the Disney+ platform, but it seems that the origins of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special date back to around 2016. According to director James Gunn, the initial idea for the holiday special was pitched to Kevin Feige during the production of Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 in 2016.
It’s certainly interesting to follow the history of how this unique project for the MCU came to be. Much like Werewolf by Night in October, the Special Presentation format is a natural evolution of the One-Shots that used to exist and are a unique way to continue narratives for Marvel. Fans have already thought up a large number of ideas that could work well in this short-film format.
Assuming Guardians was the first Special Presentation to be pitched, James Gunn deserves credit for this new creative direction. And it could certainly bode well for the creativity Gunn can bring to the table as the new head of DC Studios (on top of the strong showings he’s already had there with The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker).
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special premieres exclusively on Disney+ on Friday, November 25.
