Introducing Marvel’s Greatest Hero: Kevin Bacon | Popgen Tech

Stories about him and his heroics have long been told, and now for the first time we can finally see the revered champion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: say hello to Actor Kevin Bacon.

The longtime, legendary actor makes his MCU debut — as himself — in Marvel Studios’ latest Special Presentation, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. In the special, Mantis decides she wants to get Peter Quill best gift ever, and what’s better than getting Peter his favorite person in space? A plan is hatched to fly to Earth, find Kevin Bacon in Hollywood, and bring him back to Knowhere to celebrate the holiday season. Peace of fruitcake, right?

For MCU fans, Peter’s admiration for the one and only Kevin Bacon is nothing new, as he has been mentioned before, especially in the first one. Guardian of the Universe movie, where Peter calls Kevin Bacon, “a great hero” for saving the day by dancing (something Peter did to stop Ronan ten Accuser). Back in 2014 when the movie first came out, Bacon himself had no idea he was going to be named Star-Lord.

“I went to Caregivers opening weekend afternoon by yourself and having no idea what’s coming,” Bacon recalled to Marvel.com. “If you can imagine sitting there and hearing Peter start talking about you when you’re deep into the movie it — and not only that, it’s one thing if it’s a regular romantic comedy and someone makes a passing reference, but when it’s an actual others universe, it’s a wonderful out-of-body experience.

After the movie came out, Bacon called his wife and told her he had to see it for himself. “I said, ‘There’s a little surprise here, but I’m not going to tell you what it is.’ That’s just one of those times you go, boy, sometimes my life is weird.”

@marvel Imagine walking into an MCU movie only to find out YOU are the hero’s hero. #Marvel Studios Special Presentation: The #GuardiansOfTheGalaxy Holiday Special, starring @Kevin Bacon as #KevinBacon, is now streaming on @disneyplus ♬ original sound – Marvel Entertainment

And now, Bacon himself is part of the larger MCU, which has now emerged The Holiday Special as himself, actor Kevin Bacon.

Returning Guardians writer and director James Gunn has called Kevin Bacon his “favorite MCU character,” joking that if Kevin Bacon doesn’t become an Avenger in the future, he’ll be “really disappointed because he should be.”

“When I started writing this and I knew they were going to try to get one of Peter Quill’s heroes as a gift, of course, Kevin Bacon was the first person I thought of and the one that was mentioned the most,” Gunn told Marvel. com laughing together. “That’s something that’s been a benefit of [the special] from the beginning. I called Kevin and I was like, do you want to do this ridiculous thing? And he just laughs his ass off and agrees that’s great.”

Bacon didn’t even see a script before he agreed to do it, because he had worked with Gunn before on another film and knew whatever it was, it would be “fun and cool.”

“When James reached out to me about the Holiday Special, I don’t remember when he first talked to me about whether he said I was actually playing myself or not, but I didn’t need to see the script. I said yes right away, I’m in, no questions asked.”

Speaking to Pom Klementieff, who reprises his role as Mantis, he joked that Kevin Bacon was “fun to be kidnapped” in the world of Guardians.

“Being Kevin Bacon being Kevin Bacon is the most fun because what it means in the world of Drax and Mantis— it doesn’t mean much. They don’t really know [who he is on earth]. Kevin told us that he had a lot of fun working on this project because he hasn’t done many comedies in his life. It was something different for him as well and he was great to work with.

Mantis is also the first to realize that Kevin Bacon isn’t really the real hero that Peter talked about so much, but rather an actor, something that really annoys all the Guardians. “I loved filming the scenes and I thought it was funny because also in real life, I think that sometimes actors take themselves so seriously that it’s fun to just laugh at that.”

Fortunately, all’s well that ends well for the Guardians and Kevin Bacon, and he ends up spending a nice little vacation with them — before returning to Earth, of course. And his parting message to the space-saving heroes, “See you at Easter,” only reinforces that he’s now part of the larger Guardians family, too, and game for more celebrations to come.

“I can do whatever holiday they want. Valentine’s Day, Groundhog Day, whatever, I’m ready.”

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is now streaming on Disney+.