Warning: This article contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
James Gunn has claimed many times that he’s had the Guardians trilogy planned out from the beginning, although we know that many key developments have changed over time — like Gamora not dying at the end of Vol. 2. So with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 finally out there, no doubt there will be a lot about the cosmic team’s MCU journey that hits different now that we know how it all ends. Case in point, it seems Gunn hid a major tease at the threequel’s conclusion in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and nobody realized… until now.
For those that need a reminder, the Special ended with a cheeky post-credits scene in which Rocket broke the fourth wall by teasing another festive one-off. The meta-humor grabbed our attention the first time around, but in hindsight, it’s extremely telling that only Rocket, Groot, and Cosmo are included in this scene when they are the only Guardians (plus Kraglin) who remain part of the group by the time of Vol. 3‘s own credits tag. As Twitter user @celestialdevils pointed out:
Needless to say, fans are shook to their core by this revelation.
The dictionary definition of foreshadowing.
So does this mean Gunn really was teasing another Guardians special, just with a different team lineup (and probably not directed by him)?
Hold up, hold up. What if this scene actually takes place during the following Christmas, after the events of Vol 3?
Others, meanwhile, are inadvertently admitting that they still don’t stick around for the credits of a Marvel Studios production even after 15 years.
To revisit this prophetic post-credits sequence, catch The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney Plus.