Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: James Gunn Teases Rocket's Emotional Ending (Exclusive)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hit theatres this month, but it's not the final Marvel Cinematic Universe project of the year. Fans will soon be treated to another "Special Presentation" similar to Werewolf by Night, but this time it will follow everyone's favorite space crew. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is coming to Disney+ next week, and it's expected to tie in with the highly-anticipated Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Director James Gunn previously confirmed that this will be the last film to feature the original Guardians crew, and he's also hinted that there will be some major deaths in the upcoming movie. Many fans have guessed that Rocket will be the one to meet his end. During a recent interview with ComicBook.com's Phase Zero host, Brandon Davis, Gunn teased an emotional ending for Rocket.

"[The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special] is also very, very different than Volume 3 because Volume 3 is a really a very emotional movie," Gunn explained. "And it tells this story about Rocket and where he came from and where he's going, and how that ties into everybody else, and the end of this iteration of The Guardians." He continued, "So, doing this goofy thing like once every four days, and then going and shooting four days of Guardians Vol. 3, and then going back, it almost created a lot of whiplash. But it was also almost like The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special days were like snow days, you know? Those were the... that was recess. That was fun!"

"Well, I'm always trying to be balanced with these things, so I think it's wonderful," Gunn explained when asked if the special is required viewing for the third film. "People should see the Holiday Special. You're obviously gonna learn a lot about where the Guardians have been in the past few years. You know, you're gonna see how they now inhabit Knowhere. They've got a new ship called the Bowie. They've got a dog [who] is part of their crew now who has telekinesis named Cosmo. So where you get to learn all that, and then there's a couple of bigger pieces of spoiler-y lore. You're gonna learn all of those things. In a way, the Holiday Special was a Trojan Horse for me to sneak in stuff that becomes important in Volume 3, so I don't have to spend a lot of time at the beginning of that movie explaining it."

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special hits Disney+ on November 25.