With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 poised to rumble into theatres and stomp all competitors into the dust (to a 70s soft rock soundtrack) next month, director James Gunn and Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige have been discussing bringing the characters to the small screen for a Christmas special. Yes, you read that right.
Aquarium intern Jenna Costa Deedy kicked things off on Twitter when she asked the following:
https://twitter.com/animaltrainer91/status/852913640713977858
Gunn quickly replied with:
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/852916820809965569
Now, if you’re as seasoned a science fiction fan as we assume you are, giant red warning klaxons will be blaring in your head right now. To the layman, bringing Rocket Raccoon, Star-Lord, Groot and the gang to TV for a bit of festive cheer sounds like a no-brainer. After all, how could a beloved science fiction franchise go wrong with a lighthearted festive spinoff?
Well, I open my argument against putting this into production with Exhibit A, also known as the Star Wars Holiday Special. If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching it, please check out at least the first ten minutes and get back to us with your thoughts in the comments section. Those of you returning will have just sat through a living Star Wars-themed fever dream, as Chewbacca’s grotesque family grunts and groans unintelligibly through a bizarro family sitcom.
I wouldn’t ask my worst enemy to watch the whole thing, but if you were to you’d be in for an elderly wookie getting turned on by VR porn, Harrison Ford looking as if he’d rather be anywhere else, a deeply confusing appearance by Bea Arthur, and a blissfully coked out Carrie Fisher singing about Life Day.
If I were James Gunn, I wouldn’t go within a mile of this territory for fear of resurrecting the ghosts of the past. But hey, who knows, maybe the Guardians of the Galaxy cast are relishing the prospect of getting together and tootling out inane Christmas songs and dealing with awkward celebrity cameos.