Marvel Studios’ Phase 4 movie releases may have not produced some of the best-reviewed entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but its Special Presentations have so far been right on the money. Following the hugely popular and highly praised Werewolf by Night release, Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special has been another winner with audiences. The special, which arrived on Disney+ last week, has produced one of the best scores on Rotten Tomatoes of any MCU project.
James Gunn may be on his way out of the Marvel franchise as he takes on the huge task of making the DCU a coherent money-spinner, but he is certainly not going out without proving why he is more than up for that job. After providing some guidance for the Guardians’ appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder, the writer/director seems to have knocked it out of the park with the Guardians Holiday Special ahead of his third and final Guardians of the Galaxy movie next summer
With the MCU’s average score sitting around 83% across the entire franchise, the Guardians Holiday Special has landed a massive 93% score to put it in some of the top-rated MCU projects ever, tying with Thor: Ragnarok and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Looking specifically at Top Critic scores, the special has landed a perfect 100% approval rating to boot. When all taken into consideration, this also makes it the highest-rated Guardians of the Galaxy installment to date, boding well for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 next year.
How will Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Differ In Tone?
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special has delivered a bit of light, festive fun, but fans shouldn’t expect the same level of joviality when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 arrives next year. James Gunn has already teased a change in tone for the final outings of the current Guardians line-up, which promises to be more emotional than any of the previous movies in the franchise. He previously said:
“Vol. 3 has a lot of the fun and the goofy stuff of Guardians, but it's also incredibly emotional. It's the end of the story for this group of Guardians, so there was a lot of emotion around it. It was very serious a lot of the time. The actors were all pushing themselves a lot, especially Chris Pratt. It was heavy. A lot of Vol. 3 is going back to the beginning so that we can really see the end. We see the importance of Rocket's character and who he is. It was just important to me that it worked and that I did everything I possibly could for the sake of these characters and for the fans. So, I put my all into it.”
For now, fans are loving the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and that can only make what is to come even more bittersweet when MCU fans have to say goodbye to some of the most loved characters in the franchise when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 arrives in cinemas on May 5, 2023.