James Gunn taps into his love of Christmas in Guardians of the Galaxy special

Article content

James Gunn is a big fan of Christmas. He loves all seasons.

Article content

But in addition to eating a plateful of sweets and spending time with family and friends, Gunn raves about holiday TV specials and movies.

Article content

“I literally love Christmas. I loved star wars christmas special’” the filmmaker says with a gruff grin over a video chat from Los Angeles. “grinchall ranked/based ones, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, all of it. “

So the filmmakers weren’t going to pass up the chance to let him guardian of the galaxy Marvel’s heroes experience some sweet Christmas cheer before wrapping up next year’s story. roll. 3.

of Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (streaming now on Disney+) follows Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) to help Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) rediscover his love for Christmas. Find your favorite actor Kevin Bacon (an actor Gunn worked with in the 2010s) to deliver to him. Amazing) as a gift.

Article content

“I loved how silly the concept was and that it was doing something completely outside the boundaries of Marvel.”

Gunn, who recently announced he was leaving Marvel to co-lead DC’s film, television and animation efforts with Peter Safran, said: Sun about Bacon’s casting, and how the special ties into his breakup. Guardian series.

Kevin Bacon is the ultimate Christmas present for the Guardians. Was it easy for him to participate in this?

“I think it was pretty easy. I called him up and said, ‘Let’s do a Christmas story with the Guardians.’ He said, “It’s funny.” He then tells him that Mantis and Drax are looking for a gift for Peter Quill and wants them to go to Earth to get you as a gift for Christmas. laughed off and we ran away.

Article content

Did doing a special make it easier to say goodbye to Guardians?

“The Christmas special was a tonic. roll. 3When roll. 3 is an emotional movie. It’s got all the fun you’d expect from Guardians, but there’s also a lot of emotion and seriousness in there, and it’s really the end of the story for this group of Guardians. Shoot this—it was low stakes.It was goofy and fun — and we got back to a very serious nature Guardian 3.“

Is this part of MCU canon or Marvel One-Shot?

“Total Canon. It’s not only canon, but it’s very important because you learn a lot about the Guardians you appear in.” roll. 3The fact that they own (planet) Knowwhere and live on it reveals that Vol.There is also a relationship between the two characters that is revealed, which is important roll. 3So all of this is important to character development, even when presented in this ridiculously lighthearted context. ”

Article content

So where is this on the MCU timeline? Is this the end of Phase 4 or the start of Phase 5?

“I don’t know anything about these phases, but[Marvel Studios boss]Kevin[Feige]and I said it was an epilogue for Phase 4, so let’s do it.”

If Kevin Bacon is playing Kevin Bacon, I don’t think he can be part of the MCU right now.

“Yeah you can, but he’s Kevin Bacon. The only person who thinks he shouldn’t be a member of the next iteration of the Avengers is The Jerk. I feel lucky to have Kevin Bacon in the group.” , he could be very successful.”

When we first spoke five years ago, you told me roll. 3 It will be the last of these characters. Saying goodbye to anything is hard. how did you settle for that?

“It’s hard. But it was also a fulfilling situation because I knew from the beginning where these characters were going. roll. 3 And you know we’re telling the full story in three movies. Avengers: Infinity War, end game And the Christmas special — it feels really good. “

Article content

Having lived with these characters for nearly ten years, what do you love most about them?

“They flow out of me. I have an easy relationship with the characters. But I love seeing how these characters really grow and change, and Mantis has probably changed the most since the last time I saw Mantis (in roll. 2) She was this battered slave of this heavenly ego (Kurt Russell), but now she’s much more of herself. She is now part of this family and is more comfortable in these circumstances. roll. 3”

Article content

When finished, Guardian Marvel jumping to DC. What was it about the challenge that most excited you?

“Tell big stories. It was exciting for me to be able to tell the biggest story ever told.”

Since we’re talking about Christmas, what’s your favorite holiday movie?

“die hard”

So it’s a Christmas movie. I remember interviewing Bruce Willis once, and he agreed that this was a Christmas movie.

“If Bruce says so, then yes. I think he is the ultimate authority.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Streaming on Disney+

mdaniell@postmedia.com