When Does The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special Take Place In The MCU Timeline? Answered

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special continues the story of the rag-tag bunch of misfits. But which year are the events set?
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special distributed by Disney Platform Distribution

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special brings the titular team back after a five-year gap. The special might be more of a side story than the full-blown entry that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be, but there’s still a lot of cool easter eggs hidden in there for eagle-eyed fans. Most importantly, fans received a definitive answer to the question of when The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special takes place in the MCU timeline.

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Which Year Does The Guardians Of the Galaxy Holiday Special Take Place? Answered

As revealed by Kraglin at the beginning of the special, the events take place when it is Christmas back on Earth. Since Thor: Love and Thunder takes place in 2025, it’s easy to surmise that the special is exactly on 25 Dec. 2025. This ties into the fact that a lot has taken place since fans last saw the Guardians of the Galaxy, as they’ve had the time to purchase Knowhere from the Collector and managed to acquire a whole new ship in the Bowie.

The most significant aspect of this reveal is that it means that the Guardians have now spent two years without locating the alternate universe Gamora since Avengers: Endgame takes place in 2023. Furthermore, fans now know the extent to which the MCU timeline has reached, as the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is currently placed as the latest story within the franchise’s canon. Of course, this may very well change when Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania arrives to set things up for Kang the Conquerer to launch his attack on the multiverse.

Now that you know when The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special takes place, you can look for more news and guides at Twinfinite. For example: when does Black Panther: Wakanda Forever take place In The MCU timeline, is Gamora in The Guardians of the Galaxy’s Holiday Special, and who is Cosmo in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.


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Author
Saim Cheeda
Saim is an entertainment writer and a franchise film/TV expert. An avid fan of indie and mainstream cinema, you can find his features on Twinfinite. Playing games and watching film/TV since 1993. Favorite genres: Action, Superhero, Drama, Comedy, and Horror.