Kevin Bacon Breaks Silence on Joining Marvel Cinematic Universe | Popgen Tech

Kevin Bacon teases his joining the MCU The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+, featuring a special cameo and festive musical number.

Over the years, the MCU has confirmed a number of actors who exist as themselves within the franchise, but the most famous by far is Kevin Bacon. The ’80s acting legend was an idol of Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill during his Earthbound childhood, leading him to receive several namedrops from Guardians of the Galaxy.

After all the funny references, the actor is about to make MCU history while he’s on screen this month. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. The Disney+ adventure sees Drax and Mantis attempt to kidnap Peter Quill’s Hollywood idol in an effort to cheer him up from the Christmas season slump.

New clips have already shown some of the fun Bacon himself was having, and now the actor has spoken about his experience joining the MCU.

Kevin Bacon Teases His Role in Guardians Disney+ Special

Speaking with Access, Footloose Star Kevin Bacon has broken his silence on joining the MCU as himself The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.

Bacon promised that the special will contain many of the elements fans have come to expect while adding that his dynamic with the Guardians will be “funny and… touching:”

“I don’t want to have too many spoilers but I can tell you that I play the game myself; I can tell you that there is a connection to the world of Guardians of the Galaxy; I can tell you that there is music involved; I can tell you that the Guardians themselves are there, we’ll have a chance to interact in a funny way and I think a little touching way, which is everything that a Christmas special should be.”

Commented on how he reacted to his first MCU namedrop in 2014’s Guardian of the Universethe actor revealed that he was “really shocked,” with no knowledge that he would be mentioned until seeing the film opening weekend:

“Totally shocked, I went to the theater on opening weekend to see the movie because I thought it looked like a great movie, and I love Marvel movies, and I also worked with James Gunn on a little step called. Great a few years ago. And I had no idea, he didn’t tell me, Marvel didn’t tell me, and there I was sitting in the theater and all of a sudden they were talking about me, and I almost fell out of my seat. And I’m looking around at people just thinking ‘are you hearing what I’m hearing?'”

Bacon added how he took his wife to see a movie after discovering she was with and “he was shocked” – while also revealing that he has a “vocal cameo” in the upcoming Holiday Special:

“I called my wife afterwards and I said ‘listen, I just saw this movie, and first of all it’s amazing, secondly, we have to go, I want to get back to you.’ And I didn’t tell her what is going on and so she got to experience it as well. She was shocked, and she has a vocal cameo by the way in the Christmas special.”

The star went on to confirm his involvement in the special was James Gunn’s idea, not his, and that he was immediately on board before even reading the script:

“Oh it wasn’t my idea, no, I didn’t pitch myself for this. But James, he told me eventually that he had an idea for the Christmas special and that I was part of it. I said yes, of course,’ without having read the script or anything I was all in. And then time passed, the pandemic and various things happened where we cannot shoot it, and then all of a sudden back to come last summer or something. I was very happy doing it and I’m so happy to be a part of it.”

Bacon was then asked if he believed his newfound involvement in the MCU facilitated the famous “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”. The theory says that any actor can be linked to Kevin Bacon through other actors they’ve worked with in six connections or less:

“I don’t think it could be much easier at this point. I mean honestly, I walk on a set and it’s not just the actors but everybody on the crew will just say ‘oh yeah, I worked with you in 1992 in wherever , Montana, or something like that.'”

Although the actor revealed that, with the exception of Sean Gunn, this was his first time working with everyone in the cast, adding how “very welcoming and kind” they were as he entered this long-ago world:

“Actually this one is kind of unusual in that, except for Sean Gunn, I don’t think I’ve worked with anybody else in the cast. So that was kind of fun, and they were very welcoming and kind. And I’ when it comes to the world they’ve been living in for many, many years, I don’t know how many years the three have been doing this. Caregivers movies, nine years or so. So it can be good or it can be a little uncomfortable and everyone has been very supportive and accommodating and I’ve had a great time.”

Having worked with so many “tough and serious” project, Bacon saw an opportunity to do just that “just kidding” be “really happy:”

“It’s a lot of fun, because it’s just silly. If I’m running down a street or knocking over a Christmas tree or whatever happens. I do a lot of work that’s pretty heavy and serious, I just go out. City on a Hill and some other parts that have a lot of dark sides to them. So to have the opportunity to just play is really fun.”

Eventually, Quill’s actor idol confirmed that he was doing it “play music at the show,” adds how the Old ’97s made a new Christmas song for the special and actually appeared on “alien make-up:”

“Not to mention I play music in the show. I love to sing, I love to play, James sent me that song and I thought it was a really cool song. It’s very hard to come up with a new idea for a Christmas song but the Old ’97s cut this really cool Christmas song and I sang it with them, they were actually in a band in alien make-up, so I did nothing but have fun.”

Why Kevin Bacon Joining the MCU Is Exciting

Without knowing that this was exactly what was coming, Kevin Bacon managed to become an icon of Guardian of the Universe series through its many humorous references. And now, in a surprising move, he will finally join the blockbuster franchise as himself and have Christmas fun with the superheroes.

Between the usual Guardians shenanigans, Bacon entering the picture, and pure festive joy, the Holiday Special looks like something special – and the critics seem to agree. This marks a true testament to what Disney+ has to offer the MCU, as it’s hard to imagine anything like this happening on the big screen.

Now that Bacon has entered the Marvel Studios family, one can only imagine what this means for the future. Will the Hollywood icon return for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Does this close the door for him playing an MCU hero or villain himself, sidelining his role X-Men: First Class?

Whatever the case, fans have a lot to look forward to in this special, including Bacon even delivering some festive vocals along with the Old ’97s. Even the wife of actor Kyra Sedgwick – better known as Madeline Wuntch from Brooklyn Nine-Nine – will join in the fun as he has his own voiceover cameo.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will premiere on Disney+ on Friday, November 25.