The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022)

Film and Plot Synopsis

In the The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, the Guardians, who are on a mission to make Christmas unforgettable for Quill, head to Earth in search of the perfect present. The Marvel Studios’ Special Presentation stars Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, and Pom Klementieff, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Sean Gunn and The Old 97’s with Michael Rooker and Kevin Bacon. (Courtesy of Marvel.com)

‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ Movie Summary

Set several months after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the Guardians of the Galaxy have purchased Knowhere from the Collector (Benicio Del Toro) and set up their base of operations in the decapitated head of a celestial. As Christmas approaches, the Guardians notice that Peter Quill aka Starlord (Chris Pratt) is still depressed about the disappearance of Gamora (Zoe Saldana) who decided to set out on her own after the events of Endgame. Kraglin Obfonteri (Sean Gunn) tells the Guardians a childhood story of how the leader of the Ravagers, Yondu (Michael Rooker), ruined Christmas for Peter when he was a child by instilling that Christmas made you weak. Mantis (Pom Klementieff) reveals that she has been holding onto a secret that she too is a daughter of Ego (Kurt Russell), making her Peter’s half-sister. Mantis proposes finding the perfect Christmas gift for Peter and enlists Drax (Dave Bautista) to help her fly to Earth and retrieve Peter’s childhood hero, legendary Footloose actor Kevin Bacon (Kevin Bacon).

Drax and Mantis fly to Earth in the Guardians’ new ship, the Bowie, and land in Hollywood, California. As they stroll along Hollywood Boulevard, they find that they are having difficulty finding Bacon’s home. Instead, they take in some of the sights of Hollywood, including the Walk of Fame, Grauman’s Chinese Theater, and a bar where they both get very drunk. Eventually they obtain a map of celebrities’ homes and find Bacon’s mansion in Beverly Hills. At the mansion, Bacon is awaiting the return of his family to celebrate the holidays when Drax and Mantis arrive. Terrified by their alien appearance and aggressive attitudes, Bacon flees from Drax and Mantis. Police arrive to help Bacon as the pursuit spreads out onto the streets of Beverly Hills. However, Mantis places the police and Bacon into a trance to calm everyone down.

Drax and Mantis load Bacon onto the Bowie and begin heading back to Knowhere. Along the way, they are each surprised to learn that Bacon is merely an actor and not the real-life hero that Peter’s has always led them to believe. Once back at Knowhere, the rest of the Guardians – Nebula (Karen Gillan), Groot (Vin Diesel), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Cosmo the Spacedog (Maria Bakalova) have decorated Knowhere with thousands of Christmas lights. Drax and Mantis wrap up Bacon and present him as an extra-large Christmas gift to Peter. However, they are taken back when Peter is horrified to learn that Bacon has been kidnapped and manipulated by Mantis into enjoying the festivities.

Wow. I guess all actors aren’t complete pieces of shit. Nebula (Karen Gillan)

Peter orders Mantis to stop influencing Bacon’s emotions and orders the Guardians to return the actor to Earth safely. Kraglin is charged with taking Bacon back to Earth, once again on the Bowie. Kraglin shares a story with Bacon about how the actor inspired Peter to become the hero that he is. Bacon has a change of heart and decides to celebrate Christmas with the Guardians before returning to Earth. He even sings a Christmas song with the alien band Bzermikitokolok and the Knowheremen (The Old 97’s).

After the celebration, Peter shares a story about Yondu with Mantis that has a different ending then the one she heard earlier from Kraglin. Peter tells Mantis that Yondu felt bad for destroying Peter’s Christmas things when he was a kid, so he gifted a young Peter with the blasters which now serve as Peter’s primary weapons. Mantis breaks her silence to Peter about their mutual parentage, having feared that the truth would remind Peter of Ego’s villainous deeds. To her surprise, Peter is elated to discover that he has a sister and embraces Mantis.

In a post-credit scene, the citizens of Knowhere have decorated Groot as a Christmas tree.