THERE'S KNOW PLACE LIKE HOME....
The Guardians now operate out of Knowhere (aka the floating, the decapitated head of a Celestial). Oh, and team also now cruises around in a sweet, new, multi-story ship dubbed The Bowie.
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: What You Must Know Before You Watch, If You Missed Disney+’s Holiday Special
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Post Credits Scene Explained Kevin Bacon
Courtesy of Marvel
Before you dash to the theater to cue up Volume 3 of Guardians of the Galaxy, you may want to ask yourself: “Did I watch the Holiday Special on Disney+ last Thanksgiving?”
Because if you didn’t, a few things in the Marvel movie trilogy’s conclusion might catch you the tiniest bit off-guard.
To be clear, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was slight. ‘Twas a folly, a breezy lark in which two Guardians go to great lengths to cheer up a despondent Peter Quill.
If you can find 44 minutes between now and when you hit the Cineplex to enjoy the Holiday Special, great! You’ll be a good 2% ahead of the game. But if you cannot or choose not to, that’s where we come in.
Down below, you’ll find a half-dozen or so not-so-spoilery things to know about the Holiday Special — new characters and developments that range from “mildly relevant” to “crucial to appreciating the movie’s post-credits scene.” The movie does assume you’re up to speed, though being in the dark will not waylay your viewing experience. Much.
What is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 itself about? When the titular band of misfits’ new life on Knowhere is upended by the echoes of Rocket’s turbulent past, Peter Quill — though still reeling from losing (a) Gamora — rallies the team for a life-saving mission. The film, penned and directed by James Gunn, stars franchise vets Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel (as Groot), Bradley Cooper (as Rocket), Elizabeth Debicki, Sylvester Stallone and Sean Gunn, plus new additions Chukwudi Iwuji (Peacemaker), Will Poulter (Dopesick) and Nathan Fillion (The Rookie).
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Image Credit: Marvel -
GROOT GOT SWOLE
Image Credit: Marvel Last seen as a pissy teen in Avengers: Endgame, Groot in the Holiday Special had grown to a young (tree)man.
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COSMO UNLEASHED
Image Credit: Marvel The Holiday Special introduced us to Cosmo, a fetching cosmonaut who speaks (English) through a gizmo and who is telekinetic. Borat 2′s Maria Bakalova voices the pup.
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PETER IS IN A FUNK
Image Credit: Marvel The Holiday Special revolved around Peter Quill being in a major funk, still grieving his Gamora (who famously perished in Infinity War). Inroads were made to cheer up Peter, at least for one very special Christmas — see next item for more on that — but when Guardians 3 opens, he is more sullen then ever.
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KEVIN BACON, ABDUCTED BY ALIENS!
Image Credit: Courtesy of Disney+ To raise Peter’s spirits, Drax and Mantis got the idea to “gift” him for Christmas no less than a “legendary hero,” Kevin Bacon. That set in motion the entire special, as Drax and Mantis traveled to Earth and not-so-elegantly kidnapped Bacon — the amusing twist being that they thought he actually was the characters he played in Footloose and Friday the 13th, and not just some “repugnant” actor.
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FAMILY TIES
Image Credit: Marvel As speculated (based on some Easter eggs to be found in Guardians 2), Mantis and Peter are indeed half-siblings, sharing as they do the same father, Ego. That reveal sets the stage for a closer bond ‘tween the two in Guardians 3.
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ARMED ROCKET
Image Credit: Disney+ screenshot “How much for the arm?” — Rocket, Avengers: Infinity War
As the Holiday Special drew to a close with a festive montage, we saw that Nebula had gifted Rocket with Bucky Barnes’ tricked-out vibranium arm. (That extra-special appendage, however, does not show up in Guardians 3.)
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Pedantic I know, but Elizabeth Debicki was in Vol. 2 and Nathan Fillion had a voice only cameo in Vol. 1.
Ah, good catch with Debicki; I blocked a lot of that movie out. Fillion’s role is very different and much bigger in 3.
Thanks! I’m going at 3pm today & didn’t know this info cuz I didn’t get a chance to watch the holiday special
For the record, the Holiday Special is unironically wonderful and totally worth watching at any time of year.
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It really fleshed out Mantis as a character, and the loving callbacks to silly stuff like Kevin Bacon and Bucky’s arm are just icing on the cake.
Too bad I missed this article before I went to see it because I am most certainly never got around to watching the holiday special.
Dang it you got me excited that the arm was gonna play a role until I got to the parenthesis :p