Kevin Bacon has teased his joining the MCU in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+, revealing one special cameo and festive musical number.
Over the years, the MCU has confirmed several actors to exist as themselves within the franchise, but the most famous is by far Kevin Bacon. The '80s acting legend was an idol of Chris Pratt's Peter Quill during his Earthbound childhood, leading to him receiving several namedrop from the Guardians of the Galaxy.
After all those hilarious references, the actor will soon make MCU history as he takes to screens in this month's The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. The Disney+ adventure will see Drax and Mantis attempt to kidnap Peter Quill's Hollywood idol in an effort to cheer him up from a Christmas season slump.
New clips have already showcased some of the fun to be had with Bacon himself, and now the actor has spoken up about his experience of joining the MCU.
Kevin Bacon Teases His Role in Guardians Disney+ Special
Speaking with Access, Footloose star Kevin Bacon broke his silence on joining the MCU as himself in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
Bacon promised that the special will contain many of the elements fans expect while adding that his dynamic with the Guardians will be "funny and... touching:"
"I don't want to have too many spoilers but I can tell you that I am playing myself; I can tell you that there is a connection to the Guardians of the Galaxy world; I can you that there's music involved; I can tell you that the Guardians themselves will be there, we will get a chance to interact in a funny and I think actually kind of touching way, which is everything that a Christmas special should be."
Commenting on how he reacted to his initial MCU namedrop in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, the actor revealed he was "absolutely shocked," having had no knowledge that he would be mentioned until seeing the movie opening weekend:
"Absolutely shocked, I went to the movie theater opening weekend to see the movie because I thought it looked like a great movie, and I like Marvel movies, and I had also worked with James Gunn in a little move called Super a few years earlier. And I had no idea, he had never told me, Marvel had never told me, and there I am sitting in the theater and all of a sudden they start talking about me, and I just about fell out of my chair. And I was looking around at people just thinking 'do you hear what I hear?'"
Bacon added how he took his wife to see the movie after discovering he was included and "she was shocked" - while also revealing she has a "vocal cameo" in the upcoming Holiday Special:
"I called my wife afterwards and I said 'listen, I just saw this movie, and first off its fantastic, second off, we gotta go, I want to go back with you.' And I didn't tell her what was going on and so she got to experience it as well. She was shocked, and she has a vocal cameo by the way in the Christmas special."
The star went on to confirm his involvement in this special was James Gunn's idea, not his, and he was immediately on board before even reading the script:
"Oh it wasn't my idea, no, I didn't pitch myself for this. But James, he told me eventually that he had an idea for a Christmas special and that I was part of it. I said 'yes, of course,' without having read the script or anything I was all in. And then time passed, the pandemic and various things happened where we couldn't shoot it, and then all of a sudden it came back to come last summer or something. I had so much fun making it and I'm so happy to be part of it."
Bacon was then asked if he believes his newfound MCU involvement makes the famous "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" any easier. The theory claims that any actor can be linked to Kevin Bacon through other actors they have worked with in six connections or less:
"I don't think it could be much easier at this point. I mean honestly, I walk onto a set and it's not just the actors but everybody on the crew will just say 'oh yeah, I worked with you in 1992 in wherever, Montana, or something like that.'"
Although the actor revealed that, except for Sean Gunn, this was his first time working with everyone in the cast, adding how "extremely welcoming and kind" they were as he entered this long-standing world:
"Actually this one is kind of unusual in that, except for Sean Gunn, I don't think I've worked with anybody else in the cast. So that was kind of fun, and they were extremely welcoming and kind. And I'm coming into a world that they've been living in for many, many years, I don't know how many years it was doing three Guardians movies, nine years or something like that. So that can be good or it can be kind of uncomfortable and everybody was extremely supportive and welcoming and I had a good time."
Having worked on so many "gritty and serious" projects, Bacon found the chance to do something that's "just silliness" to be "really fun:"
"It was so fun, because it's just silliness. If I'm running down a street or knocking down a Christmas tree or whatever it happens to be. I do so much work that's kind of gritty and serious, I just was coming off City on a Hill and some other parts that had a lot of dark sides to them. So to get a chance to just play was really fun."
Lastly, Quill's idol actor confirmed he does "play music in the show," adding how the Old '97s created a new Christmas song for the special and actually appear in "alien make-up:"
"Not to mention I play music in the show. I love to sing, I love to play, James sent me that song and I thought it was a really cool song. It's very hard to come up with a new idea for a Christmas song but the Old '97s cut this really cool Christmas song and I got to sing it with them, they're actually in the band in alien make-up, so I had nothing but fun."
Why Kevin Bacon Joining the MCU is So Exciting
Without even knowing it was coming himself, Kevin Bacon managed to become an icon of the Guardians of the Galaxy series through his many hilarious references. And now, in a shocking move, he will finally join the blockbuster franchise as himself and have some Christmas fun with superheroes.
Between the usual Guardians antics, Bacon coming into the picture, and pure festive joy, the Holiday Special seems poised to be something special - and the critics seem to agree. This marks a true testament to what Disney+ has offered the MCU, as it's tough to imagine anything like this happening on the big screen.
Now that Bacon has entered the Marvel Studios family, one can only wonder what that could mean for the future. Will the Hollywood icon be back for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Does this close the door to him ever playing an MCU hero or villain himself, putting aside his role in X-Men: First Class?
Whatever the case, fans have plenty to look forward to in this special, including Bacon even delivering some festive vocals with the Old '97s. Even the actor's wife Kyra Sedgwick - better known as Madeline Wuntch from Brooklyn Nine-Nine - will be getting involved in the fun as she has a voiceover cameo of her own.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will premiere on Disney+ on Friday, November 25.
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