Marvel Studios’ earliest Disney+ project hasn’t been released yet, Kevin Feige reveals

According to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, the earliest MCU Disney+ project has yet to be released, which will change in the coming weeks.

For roughly two years, Disney+ has become an integral part of the Marvel Studios formula, with streaming series expanding the superpowered universe alongside the studio’s blockbusters, the latest of which will be The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.

The upcoming festive special will ring in the holiday season as the Guardians look to make Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord feel a little more at home by kidnapping actor Kevin Bacon for Christmas.

The special received high praise from critics who saw it early, with some calling it “feel good story” something that will “melted all purists’ hearts ‘No Christmas stuff until Thanksgiving.’

But as it turns out, the Guardians’ Christmas outing not only marks a fun holiday outing for MCU fans, but the release of Marvel Studios’ earliest Disney+ project.

A big occasion with the Guardians MCU Holiday Special

In a new one featurette promotion of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday SpecialMarvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed that the special presentation directed by James Gunn was the first piece of MCU content presented to Disney+.

In the short teaser, Feige said that “[the Special] is the very first ever conceived from Marvel Studios for Disney+,” noticed Gunn putting it back to him “on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2” in 2016, over three years before Disney+ launched:

“On the set of ‘Vol.2,’ James Gunn said, ‘We should do a holiday special.’ We’re all laughing. We thought it would be great. And then they wrote it in three days.”

James Gunn followed this up by saying that the work on the special was very “joyful,” like him “[got] to work with many people [he] really [loves].”

Gunn also took part Twitter to confirm Feige’s claims, telling fans that he “randomly pitched the special” to Marvel Studios instead, the filmmaking giant approached him about the idea:

“I accidentally posted the special for Kevin while filming Vol 2”

How the Guardians Special has been a long time coming

It’s wild to think that of all the universe-changing Marvel Studios content, it was James Gunn’s The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special that started it all. It wasn’t Multiverse-shattering Loki or a heroic debut that Mrs. Marvel or Moon Knightno, it was a tale of The Guardians kidnapping the star Footless.

But if you think about it on a deeper level, this actually makes some sense. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige noted that Gunn came to him with this idea during the production of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. It means that Holiday special has been in the works since at least the summer of 2016.

It was a long time before Disney+ was even close to launch, meaning this was likely pitched without any real idea of ​​where it would land. Feige and the crew had/have so much faith in Gunn that they gave the green light and probably thought they would figure out the logistics later.

If Disney+ hadn’t come along and been the success it is, this might have landed on a network like ABC.

While it’s the earliest piece of Disney+ MCU content to be conceived, it may not have been dreamed up with Disney+ in the first place.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special coming to Disney+ on Friday the 25th. November.