A homage to The Star Wars Holiday Special from 1978, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will see the rag-tag team of space adventurers on a lighthearted romp on Earth. But it seems it will be more than just Star-Lord and his team celebrating the season. Kevin Bacon is going to be playing a version of himself in the Disney Plus special. Revealed at the Walt Disney Company’s official site and shared on social media, the teaser for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special finally reveals the main plot of the last Phase Four Marvel Studios entry. It seems Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, has become very depressed as the Christmas season approaches. This stems from the loss of the love of his life, Gamora, after Thanos sacrificed her for the Soul Stone in Avengers: Infinity War. Although she was technically resurrected at the end of Avengers: Endgame, it is a version of Gamora from a different timeline, who does not know Quill or their fellow Guardians. To help their compatriot, the group heads to Earth to find Star-Lord’s idol, Kevin Bacon. The team is convinced that meeting Hollywood star and the legendary leading man of Footloose (1984) will cheer Quill up. Of course, given Drax and Mantis are unfamiliar with Earth beyond what Quill has told them, funny shenanigans in getting Kevin Bacon ensue. Fans of the MCU will remember that Star-Lord described Kevin Bacon as the greatest hero on Earth in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. The rest of the Guardians apparently took this description quite literally, not knowing that the events of Footloose are from a movie. Bacon, of course, will be playing a fictional version of himself. Understandably, he will not exactly be open to the idea of being kidnapped and taken into space just to put a smile on Star-Lord’s face. Kevin Bacon is no stranger to the superhero genre. In fact, he has already played a villain in X-Men: First Class (2011) in the role of Sebastian Shaw. Moreover, Bacon has previously worked with GoTG director James Gunn. In the black comedy Super (2010), Kevin Bacon played a strip club owner and the main antagonist opposite Rainn Wilson and Elliot Page. The film was directed and written by James Gunn. As for Bacon’s new role as himself in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it seems he has an even bigger fan than Star-Lord. James Gunn took to Twitter, stating that Kevin Bacon is his favorite MCU character.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) October 25, 2022 Kevin Bacon is not the first actor who played himself in a Guardians of the Galaxy film. David Hasselhoff also played himself (or rather Kurt Russell’s Ego shapeshifted into him briefly) in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Now that James Gunn has been tapped to be co-CEO of DC Studios, this will be the second-to-the-last Marvel Studios project he will be involved with. Next year’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 will be the last, at least for the next 5 or more years while Gunn is under contract with Warner Bros. Discovery. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special stars Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, and Pom Klementieff, with Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Michael Rooker, and Kevin Bacon. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special premieres on the Disney+ streaming service November 25, 2022.
