James Gunn Would've Used a Different Actor in THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL If Kevin Bacon Didn't Do It

The Guardians of the Galaxy movies, directed by James Gunn, are a good mix of humor, action, and serious storylines that draw us closer to the characters and their mostly tragic stories. As a break from the big, scary and sad, Gunn made a super-fun treat for the fans with The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. The short film features a Christmas-loving version of Kevin Bacon who gets kidnapped by Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) as a gift for super-fan Peter Quill (Chris Pratt).

While Bacon is the favorite actor of James Gunn, and he planned on using him in the story all along, it turns out he did have a backup plan if Bacon wasn’t up for taking on the part. In a recent interview with Variety, Gunn was asked what he would have done if Bacon turned him down. He replied:

“I would have recast with a different actor, but I’m glad I got my first choice.”

When asked how similar Kevin Bacon of the special is to the real Kevin Bacon, Gunn said:

“Kevin doesn’t like Christmas. That part was hilarious to me. I have Kevin showing up on set in what is supposed to be his house, and it’s filled with all these enormous inflatables. It looks like Santa Claus vomited all over the Bacon house, which looks nothing like Kevin Bacon’s house in any way. It’s so L.A.-looking, which is just not Kevin. But Kevin is this super nice guy. He’s so talented, so professional, so egoless and just a really kind person. That part of the character is just like him.”

And when asked if Gunn and Marvel boss Kevin Feige discussed whether Bacon’s appearance in the special means he wouldn’t appear in the MCU as a future character, or if the part connects or cancels out his villainous role in X-Men: First Class, Gunn said:

“No, we didn’t. One of the things that Kevin Feige has really impressed upon me in running the MCU is that what matters most is the project right in front of him. You may have a plan about how you want to do something down the road, but if it screws up the thing right in front of you, then it doesn’t work. The best thing for the holiday special is Kevin Bacon, and if that means that Kevin Bacon is a different character later on in the MCU, it doesn’t really matter. It’s not real. None of this is real. He was the perfect person to cast as Kevin Bacon. If we had cast John Schneider as Kevin Bacon, it wouldn’t have worked as well.”

I am so excited to watch this special! My family is going to enjoy it tonight, and we can’t wait because we’ve only heard great things. Have you watched it yet? What did you think?