James Gunn Calls ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ ‘Greatest Thing I’ve Ever Done in My Life’
Christian Zilko
James Gunn continues to move back and forth between Marvel and DC projects with ease. After briefly being fired from directing “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” he moved on to DC, writing and directing last year’s pseudo-reboot “The Suicide Squad” and creating the hit spinoff show “Peacemaker” for HBO Max. But after an outpouring of support from fans and his cast members, Gunn was ultimately reinstated at the helm of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise as well.
While he is currently shooting a third film for a 2023 release, fans won’t have to wait that long to see more of Star-Lord and company. Gunn also wrote and directed “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special,” which will stream on Disney+ this December. Gunn has made no secret of his enthusiasm about the project, but went further than ever before in a new interview with Radio Times, essentially calling it a highlight of his career.
“The ‘Holiday Special’ is the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he said. “It’s totally ridiculous, and every day we can’t believe that we’re making it. We all completely love it. It is unlike anything that anyone’s ever seen before. I can’t wait for people to see it. And it’s out pretty soon. You know, it’s out this Christmas.”
The title is a reference to “The Star Wars Holiday Special,” an infamous 1978 TV movie featuring much of the cast of “A New Hope.” While the special is notable for marking the first appearance of Boba Fett, it was poorly received and criticized by the actors and George Lucas, who ordered it withheld from further public viewing.
Gunn has said in the past that he came up with the idea for the special years ago, and has been asking Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige to make it for years. It took the launch of Disney+, and the need for more Marvel content to fill it, to make Gunn’s dream a reality.
And if any “Star Wars” fans think this will be a mean-spirited lampoon of the special George Lucas disavowed, think again. Gunn has said that his special will be more homage than parody, tweeting that “yes, I unironically loved the Star Wars Holiday Special as a kid.”
