James Gunn has used the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special as a "trojan horse" to introduce some elements of the upcoming third film in the series.
He told Deadline: "I used the holiday special as an opportunity to introduce some elements into Guardians of the Galaxy, so I didn't have to explain them at the beginning of Volume three. It was a trojan horse. He said: "[It was] an insane experience because Vol. three is a serious movie, it deals with these characters' emotional lives.