Christmas time is almost upon us, and Marvel fans are being given an early present, in the form of a new special centered on the Guardians of the Galaxy.
In the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is feeling down during the festive season, namely because he isn't able to really celebrate like he would have done on Earth.
Mantis (Pom Klementieff) enlists the help of Drax (Dave Bautista) to head to Peter's home planet and get him the best present ever: Kevin Bacon. But it's not only the Footloose star who makes a surprise appearance in the show.
How the 'Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special' Brings Yondu Back
That's right. Peter's adoptive father Yondu (Michael Rooker) is back from the dead, sort of, in the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
Yondu died during the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, when he sacrificed himself in order to save Peter during their battle against Star-Lord's biological father Ego (Kurt Russell).
But, despite the loss, the character does return for the special, with Rooker once again portraying the loveable rogue through voice acting as Yondu returns through animated flashback scenes.
These flashbacks are shown at different points in the Holiday Special, and they're used to explain how Peter tried to introduce Yondu to the festive season.
The story is told from the point of view of different characters, first by Kraglin (Sean Gunn) and later by Peter.
Kraglin explains that Yondu dismissed Peter's attempts to celebrate Christmas, which is why Mantis makes it her mission to try and cheer him up as she feels responsibility to do so as his half-sister.
In the end, it turns out that Kraglin only knew part of the story and in actual fact Yondu ended up coming to enjoy celebrating Christmas with Peter, and he loved it when Peter gave him a present. He was so delighted by the gift that he displayed it proudly on the dashboard of his spaceship.
Director James Gunn has previously reiterated how Yondu will remain dead in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so as not to detract from the sacrifice he made to save Peter in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Gunn said on Twitter, per the The Independent, in October 2020: "I get sometimes you can bring back characters in a cool way. But usually, if a character dies, & it's a meaningful part of the story, the character should stay dead.
"So unless it's a flashback, Yondu will stay dead, as far as I'm concerned. Otherwise, it ruins his sacrifice."
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is out on Disney+ now.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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