Marvel’s “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” hits the Disney+ streaming service tomorrow and is riding a wave of excellent reviews thus far for the one-off.
The ‘Special Presentation’ also marks the MCU debut of Kevin Bacon, who is playing a fictionalized version of himself who has been deemed by some of these intergalactic misfits to be the perfect Christmas present for a depressed Star-Lord (Chris Pratt).
However, his casting has also led to some confusion as it’s not Bacon’s first foray into the Marvel screen universe – Bacon played the lead villain Sebastian Shaw in 2011’s well-regarded “X-Men: First Class”.
Whilst the Fox-Marvel films aren’t part of the MCU canon as yet, the MCU’s recent multiverse shenanigans and inclusion of past X-Men cast members as their characters – from Patrick Stewart in the “Doctor Strange” sequel to Hugh Jackman’s return in “Deadpool 3” – has led to speculation that will change.
Speaking with Variety, the special’s director James Gunn addressed Kevin Bacon’s place in the MCU and says Bacon’s prior “X-Men” role was never a topic of discussion with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige:
“One of the things that Kevin Feige has really impressed upon me in running the MCU is that what matters most is the project right in front of him. You may have a plan about how you want to do something down the road, but if it screws up the thing right in front of you, then it doesn’t work.
The best thing for the holiday special is Kevin Bacon, and if that means that Kevin Bacon is a different character later on in the MCU, it doesn’t really matter. It’s not real. None of this is real. He was the perfect person to cast as Kevin Bacon. If we had cast John Schneider as Kevin Bacon, it wouldn’t have worked as well.”
Of course, the Marvel films are filled with similar double casting, from Chris Evans as Captain America/The Human Torch to Josh Brolin as Thanos/Cable. Should the prior Fox Marvel films be made canon, it’ll open some interesting questions.
Gunn also revealed that Bacon isn’t a big fan of Christmas in real life, very different from his Xmas-loving ways in the special episode:
“Kevin doesn’t like Christmas. That part was hilarious to me. I have Kevin showing up on set in what is supposed to be his house, and it’s filled with all these enormous inflatables. It looks like Santa Claus vomited all over the Bacon house, which looks nothing like Kevin Bacon’s house in any way. It’s so L.A.-looking, which is just not Kevin. But Kevin is this super nice guy. He’s so talented, so professional, so egoless and just a really kind person. That part of the character is just like him.”
Meanwhile, Disney+ has irked some fans with a new episode of its “Legends” web series recapping the history of Drax and Mantis.
Released yesterday, the clip included a deleted scene from the second ‘Guardians’ film, one that reveals a spoiler that wasn’t in that film’s canon but is key to the Holiday Special according to The Direct.
It has reportedly led to enough backlash that the episode was pulled from the service.
“The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” will begin streaming on Disney+ on Friday.
