A new post from a reliable Twitter user has possibly leaked the runtime for James Gunn’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
The MCU's next Special Presentation for Disney+, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, will center on the spacefaring misfits as they attempt to cheer up Peter Quill, who finds himself stricken with a bad case of the holiday blues.
To do this, Drax and Mantis travel to Earth and attempt to get the attention of someone very special to Quill.
Now, with this being the studio’s third special presentation (Werewolf by Night and Director by Night serving as the first two), Marvel is aiming for a shorter runtime in line with those which came before it. But exactly how long might it be?
Guardians Holiday Special Runtime Leaked
According to Twitter user Cryptic4KQual, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special clocks in at 41 minutes and 55 seconds. According to a follow-up tweet, this runtime includes the end credits.
Cryptic4kQual has been building up a solid reputation as someone who is privy to various runtimes for Disney+ content. They previously revealed the correct running times for Andor Episode 10, the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law finale, and the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer ahead of their respective releases.
James Gunn did previously mention that the special would be on the shorter end, but this runtime may still come in far shorter than some were expecting.
The short ends up being over 10 minutes shorter than fellow Special Presentation, Werewolf by Night, and even falls behind many of Marvel's Disney+ series, many of which have episodes that reach the 50 and 60-minute marks with ease (Hawkeye's finale was a whopping 62 minutes long).
Enough Time for Guardians of the Galaxy Antics?
Is a roughly 40-minute runtime enough to tell the story that the special has in store? Especially when one factors in that it’s more like 35 minutes without the credits.
The likely answer is yes. For starters, it was written and directed by James Gunn who is very accustomed to writing shorter-form plots. Look no further than the fan-favorite Peacemaker series, where a typical episode runtime is akin to the Guardians Holiday Special.
It’s also worth taking into account the fact that many fans saw Werewolf by Night as a perfect length for a smaller-scale MCU project, and that was only a little bit longer than the Guardians’ latest adventure.
So, it stands to reason that there will still be plenty of opportunity for hijinks and yuletide cheer with this somewhat abbreviated runtime.
Marvel Studios’ The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special arrives on Disney+ on Friday, November 25.
