The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will take place before Vol. 3

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Much like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo before them, The Guardians of the Galaxy will be receiving their very own Holiday Special next year. It was announced last December that James Gunn would be writing and directing The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special for Disney+.  "One of my favorite stories ever, which I have bugged [Kevin Feige] endlessly about over the years," Gunn said. "I can’t believe we’re actually doing this. And, yes, I unironically loved the Star Wars Holiday Special as a kid." Flash forward to today, and James Gunn has teased the live-action special by sharing a photo of his first draft on Twitter.

In another Tweet, James Gunn responded to a fan wondering where the Holiday Special will fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline. As expected, Gunn confirmed that it will be set between Thor: Love & Thunder and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The special will be released on Disney+ on Christmas 2022, but we'll be seeing the Guardians of the Galaxy sooner than that as they're slated to appear in Taika Waititi's Thor: Love & Thunder, which will hit theaters on May 6, 2022. As for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Gunn recently teased that "Our designers & visual development geniuses are busy creating new, fantastic designs of other worlds & alien beings. I'm not sure the galaxy is big enough for all this magic. This. One. Is. Huge. I'm excited." Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will kick off production later this year and will debut in theaters in 2023.