The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is bookended by animated sequences revisiting Peter Quill's childhood as part of the Ravagers. While Yondu initially "ruins" Christmas by destroying Peter and Kraglin's Christmas tree, he later finds the gift the youngster had bought him, and the group's leader has a change of heart.
As Star-Lord would explain to Mantis, Yondu accepted his present - which was actually featured in Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel - and gave Peter his Element Guns in return.
We knew for months that Michael Rooker would be back as Yondu, and some fans were disappointed that he only appeared in animated form. However, writer and director James Gunn has now explained that his longtime collaborator was on set, shooting his scenes for real before the footage was traced over and animated.
Needless to say, we'd kill to see Rooker destroying that tree for real, and this is actually a really fascinating glimpse into how what appeared to be a relatively simple sequence was made.
"A seasonal showpiece for the amazing Pom Klementieff as Mantis, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is James Gunn’s Marvel masterstroke, and the best Holiday Special ever made," we said in our review last week. "A merry Marvel Christmas miracle, it doesn’t get any better than this."
Check out Gunn's Tweets below, along with a first look at Rooker suited up as Yondu again.
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