Last year James Gunn teased that the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special would feature the introduction of one of the “great new Marvel characters”, which led to a lot of fan speculation about just who that would be. Now the writer/director has gone one step further to suggest that more than one Marvel hero will be making their first MCU appearance in the Disney+ show this December. Along with his expectation-setting suggestion that this is the “best thing he’s ever done”, the special is already getting more hype than the third Guardians movie that follows it.

Although not well known amongst those who don’t avidly read comic books, James Gunn has managed to make the ragtag group into instantly recognizable components of the MCU. Led by Peter “Star Lord” Quill and originally consisting of Drax, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot, with Mantis and Nebula joining later, the Guardians of the Galaxy have played a big part in the defeat of Thanos as well as having their own adventures along the way.

Now the end is almost nigh for the current set up of the Guardians team, with the Holiday Special and third solo movie set to be the last appearances for some characters and for director James Gunn, who has suggested strongly that this will be his last Marvel project, having dedicated himself to a number of TV shows with Warner Bros. that spinoff his The Suicide Squad movie. When it comes to the upcoming Guardians Holiday Special though, the end coming for some characters seems to mean the introduction of others. In answer to a fan question about whether the Holiday Special would just “be a ride” or introduce something new, to which Gunn answered:

“More than one great new MCU characters will be introduced.”

Related: Which MCU Holiday Special Are Fans More Excited For?

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Will Be Relatively Short

Star Lord Peter Quill in a field in Galaxy of the Guardians 2
Marvel Studios / Disney

Despite James Gunn having teased the appearance of multiple new MCU characters, he has so far not given any real indication about whom those characters will be. Over the course of many fan questions though, Gunn has ruled out some of the names that it could be, including Homer and the Happy Ghost. While these are some of the least likely characters to have appeared anyway, it seems that Gunn didn’t feel he was spoiling anything by dismissing them from speculation.

There are a number of new characters who are set to feature in the relatively near future of the MCU who could make a quick cameo appearance in the Guardians Holiday Special, including Nova or Adam Warlock, who is known to feature heavily in the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 storyline. However, with a short runtime of around 40 minutes, the new additions will probably not be getting much screen time, or any kind of in-depth character development in the show itself, making some kind of cameo nod seem much more probable. Either way, the Guardians Holiday Special will premiere on Disney+ sometime in December, paving the way for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in May 2023.