Disney+ has recently been called to remove an episode of Legends from its platform due to the Marvel Studios docuseries spoiling one of the studio’s own upcoming productions. The clash occurs in light of the new James Gunn-directed feature, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. The parent platform of the television film will supposedly keep the removed episode of the docuseries on hold at least until the release of the film but the removal may as well be deemed permanent later.
James Gunn’s holiday special was supposed to be taking a step away from the gloom and doom of the Guardians and their leader’s grief over Gamora’s death in Infinity War. However, the recent turn of events at Disney+ has only added rage and controversy surrounding the feature a mere two days before its scheduled premiere.
Also read: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Review: Marvel Christmas Magic
The GotG Holiday Special Gets Ruined By Marvel’s Legends
What was supposed to be a refresher episode for the upcoming The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special turned out to be an absolute disaster and mismanagement of the feature. Legends, the Marvel Studios docuseries was created as an initiative to cover the vast expanse of the MCU canon in fragments centered around specific characters and their arc. The purpose is to provide a revision of the narrative of MCU’s heroes and villains before any major production’s release in order for the fans to catch up to the up-to-date developments before walking into the theatres.
Spoilers ahead
The very same Legends that was supposed to supplement the upcoming MCU narrative for the fans has now caused uproar in the Marvel community for ruining what was to be a pleasant holiday surprise in James Gunn‘s Disney+ special. In an episode that has since been removed, Drax and Mantis are seen speaking to each other about their Commander-in-Chief, Star-Lord, and the former asks Mantis, “Why don’t you want me to tell him? He should know you are his sister.” The familial relation that Mantis shares with Peter Quill could very well send the latter into deeper grief for having to be reminded about Ego. And so, Mantis answers Drax’s question by saying, “Our only connection is the source of his greatest shame. I think not.”
The implication of the revealed relationship serves to establish a bond between the two Guardians that extends beyond their current camaraderie. The Holiday Special could use this as a catalyst to bring Star-Lord out of his misery and begin healing by putting into perspective the family that is willing to travel across the galaxy to cheer him up and who, in return, he still holds dear.
What the Legends Spoiler Means For the Holiday Special
James Gunn has been playing around with the idea of introducing the daughter of Ego into the narrative for a long time. The revealed scene in Legends was aired as a deleted scene from The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 years prior to the November 23 episode of the docuseries. But being a refresher course on all things past and present, revisiting the relationship that has been kept a secret all these years, both from Star-Lord and from the Marvel fandom by James Gunn, actually serves to be a major spoiler because of the implication of that relationship’s importance and relevance in the upcoming story.
James Gunn, the director of The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy had been keeping his one last trick up his sleeve for a major show-and-tell that was supposed to occur in his Christmas-themed Holiday Special. Now that the spoiler has been slapped onto the walls of the internet and social media platforms, the removal of the Disney+ episode does little to reverse the damage done.
As fans rage against the Disney+ blunder, one calls into question the division of hierarchy within Marvel Studios for having such a massive spoiler slip through before release. Perhaps the vast canon of the MCU is too expansive now for the crew to keep track of every minuscule development and such blunders may well be expected to reoccur in the future.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special premieres on Disney+ on November 25, 2022.
Source: Marvel Studios: Legends
