If James Gunn gets his way, then the Guardians of the Galaxy might be getting their own Christmas holiday special. The franchise already features a raccoon and sentient tree, while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will introduce a living planet into the mix. But can the wacky, cosmic franchise ever make the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special palatable to genre and sci-fi fans? There have been a lot of Star Wars spinoffs that you’ve likely never seen, but the much-maligned TV variety show from 1978 is the most notorious among fans.

Following the success of the first Star Wars movie, CBS approached George Lucas about doing a TV special. Designed in the mold of a variety show, it would focus on the Wookiee holiday known as Life Day. It featured the return of Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca along with cameos from Luke, Han, Leia, and a bunch of music, TV, and film stars. From there, no one quite knows what happened. Lucas claims to have had little actual involvement, and Lucasfilm has made sure no official release of it has ever come out. Still, it holds a special place for people who saw it air as children.

Among them is Guardians director James Gunn, who took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the possibilty of making a similar holiday special for the Guardians of the Galaxy:

Honestly? Yes. I talk about this all the time with Kevin Feige. We both find the idea fun and funny. https://t.co/mnNEIbrcqG— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 14, 2017

I LOVED the Star Wars Holiday special as a kid. It’d be fun to do one the way I remember it as opposed to the way it actually is. https://t.co/X0esNsZxNZ— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 14, 2017

While Gunn admits he and Kevin Feige have joked about it, the writer/director clearly has fond memories of the special. And while we may never actually see such a project get made, it could actually be pretty fun. After all, going into it with the knowledge that it was meant to be silly and humorous would certainly help. If nothing else, maybe Gunn will manage to make a short homage to the Star Wars holiday special and include it on the home video release of Guardians 2.

In the meantime, fans are anxious to see the actual Guardians 2 when it hits theaters in a few weeks. We know that, like the Star Wars Holiday Special, it will feature some dysfunctional family moments. We also got a look at a clip earlier today teasing that at least part of Guardians 2 will take place on Earth. The clip itself was shown along with a funny look at the movie, proving all involved have a healthy sense of humor. While a Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special may just be a pipe dream, there’s still a glimmer of hope that it could someday become a reality.

Source: James Gunn

Header Image Artwork: Marvel Heroes

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