Guardians Of The Galaxy director James Gunn has teased that the forthcoming ‘Holiday Special’ will introduce a legendary character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the film series.

• READ MORE: Guardians Of The Galaxy 3: what we know so far about the next chapter in the Marvel series

The special is due to be released on Disney+ next year, and will set up some of the events for the third volume of Guardians Of The Galaxy, currently expected to arrive in 2023.

Posting on Twitter, Gunn wrote: “In my incredibly subjective & admittedly often odd opinion, we’ll be introducing one of the greatest MCU characters of all time.”

In my incredibly subjective & admittedly often odd opinion, we'll be introducing one of the greatest MCU characters of all time. #GotGHolidaySpecial https://t.co/CipO64ZpoC pic.twitter.com/qnVkVr7w10

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) October 2, 2021

Fans immediately began speculating who the previously unseen character could be, with Gunn responding to shoot down a few suggestions, including Howard the Duck and “Longshot played by Limahl from Kajagoogoo”.

The special is a sequel to the original two Guardians Of The Galaxy films – as well as Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and the upcoming Thor: Love And Thunder – and a prequel to Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.

The 55-year-old director also confirmed in the comments that the new release would take the form of a TV special, and will be available to watch in time for Christmas 2022.

Last year Gunn said that Vol. 3 would “probably” be his last as director.

When asked by a fan on Instagram (via ScreenRant) whether the next movie will be “the last one” or if there may be more in the future, Gunn said that it would likely be his swan song with the franchise.

“It’s probably my last one, and probably the last with the current team,” he replied. “But you never know!”

Gunn also confirmed that there would be a character death in Vol. 3, replying to a fan: “I can’t remember ANY comic book film where someone didn’t die!”