Before venturing into an emotional adventure in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Peter Quill and the rest of the team will have a festive one-off in the franchise's holiday special on Disney+.
The upcoming installment will be directed by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 director James Gunn, and it will feature the MCU returns of Chris Pratt, Karen Gillian, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, and Bradley Cooper. Given the events of Avengers: Endgame, it is not known if Zoe Saldana will return as Gamora in the aforementioned special.
Plot details of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special are still being kept under wraps, but Gunn already confirmed that its narrative will directly connect to Vol. 3. Aside from the returning Guardians members, there are no other reported characters that will be involved in the special's narrative.
It was heavily teased that Star Wars actor Mark Hamill would likely make an appearance, but so far, no other developments have surfaced.
Now, Gunn has once again teased an interesting tidbit about the upcoming holiday special.
James Gunn Teases New MCU Character
When asked by a fan if there will be a new character in the franchise's holiday special, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn teased in a Tweet that the installment will be "introducing one of the greatest MCU characters of all time:"
"In my incredibly subjective & admittedly often odd opinion, we'll be introducing one of the greatest MCU characters of all time. #GotGHolidaySpecial"
Who Will James Gunn Introduce in the Special?
Based on Gunn's comments, it looks like The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is poised to introduce a character that will have instant ramifications for the larger MCU.
While there's a chance that this character could end up being a minor one and will be under the silly category, it's also possible that Gunn is teasing a major hero or even villain that will appear in the one-off.
A prime candidate would be Adam Warlock. The cosmic hero's MCU debut was already hinted at during one of the post-credits scenes of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and it makes narrative sense for him to debut during the upcoming special.
For those unaware, Adam is a perfect Sovereign created by Ayesha in order to help her destroy the Guardians.
There's a chance that Gunn could introduce Warlock in the post-credits scene of the holiday special. By doing this, it would allow the installment to still have a festive feel while looking ahead to the Guardians' next adversary.
It would also be a fitting debut for Warlock since he is described as "Space Jesus" in the pages of Marvel Comics. This is such because he is capable of resurrecting himself and is known as the Avatar of Life.
Another interesting candidate would be Santa Claus (yes, that Santa). In Marvel Comics, via CBR, Santa was actually the most powerful Omega level mutant, with abilities on-par with Apocalypse and Jean Grey.
On a plot level, it remains to be seen how Santa could fit with Guardians' escapades, but it's possible that the team will encounter the character during their search for Gamora. It's likely that a storyline centered around saving Christmas with the Guardians at the forefront will be explored.
Given the heavy tease that Mark Hamill will potentially be involved in the special, there's a chance that the Star Wars veteran will portray Santa Claus. In many ways, seeing Hamill as the famous Christmas legend alongside the MCU's Guardians would be a visual treat, and it will be interesting to find out how this team-up could be portrayed in the show's narrative.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is expected to premiere on Disney+ in late 2022.
