James Gunn Makes A Bold Claim About The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special

More than four decades ago, George Lucas greenlit one of the biggest flops of his career with "The Star Wars Holiday Special." Designed as a variety show around the concept of Wookies celebrating a holiday called Life Day, the special is what would happen if you ate spoiled food while watching "Star Wars" and then had a fever dream about it. Though he was gone from the production by the time it began filming, Lucas famously wanted every copy of "The Star Wars Holiday Special" destroyed, saying he'd do it himself if he had "the time and a sledgehammer" (via Newsweek).

Yet one of the most influential working directors today, James Gunn, has been forthright about his love of "The Star Wars Holiday Special," and in December 2020, it was announced that he'd be doing a seasonal special of his own. "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" is set to drop on Disney+ during the 2022 yuletide season, and when it was announced, Gunn tweeted, "Yes, I unironically loved the Star Wars Holiday Special as a kid."

Gunn has been busy lately, directing not only "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" but also the third movie in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" series, as well as the DC film "The Suicide Squad" and its spin-off HBO Max show, "Peacemaker." Even so, it seems his enthusiasm for the "Guardians" holiday special continues to grow. In a new interview, he made his boldest claim yet about the project.

Speaking with Radio Times, James Gunn claimed, "'The [Guardians of the Galaxy] Holiday Special' is the greatest thing I've ever done in my life." That's a high bar to clear for a filmmaker whose body of work already includes such acclaimed projects as "Peacemaker" and the already existing "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies, but Gunn didn't hedge his statement. In fact, he doubled down, continuing, "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."

Though the characters have appeared in other MCU projects, "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" will be the first time fans get to see the spacefaring team of reluctant heroes in Gunn's hands since 2017's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." It's been a long wait due to Gunn's brief departure from the MCU – during which he directed DC projects for Warner Bros. – and because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which sent the entire entertainment industry into a cycle of stalls and delays. Gunn seems thrilled to finally release the special, saying, "It's out pretty soon. You know, it's out this Christmas. It's not like people have to wait that long."

For Marvel fans who think now until Christmas is a pretty long wait, there's plenty of MCU content filling the gap. "Moon Knight" begins on Disney+ in only a few days and will shortly be followed by Sam Raimi's MCU debut, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."