What is Knowhere in ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special?’ The team’s new HQ, explained

The following article contains spoilers for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is now available to stream on Disney Plus, and it might have added more to the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise than you would have expected prior to its release. The newest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe added some unexpected lore like how Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) received his guns and how Yondu’s (Michael Rooker) obsession with his knick-knacks began. 

Not every addition to Guardians of the Galaxy lore was part of a flashback and there were more than enough new additions to the MCU in the special. For example, the special reintroduced Cosmo the dog as voiced by Maria Bakalova, ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. But the special also introduced a major change for the Guardians of the Galaxy, that they have moved out of the Milano and found a new headquarters. That’s right the Guardians have officially moved into Knowhere. Let’s take a look at their headquarters, how they managed to acquire their new base of operations, and unpack the history of the head in the MCU.

What is Knowhere in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special?

Knowhere was first introduced in the original Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, which was also written and directed by James Gunn. Knowhere is the head of a decapitated Celestial that happens to be large enough for the shadiest of criminal elements to take refuge in. Over the years Knowhere has seen its fair share of action, with Thanos (Josh Brolin) attacking The Collector (Benicio del Toro) to retrieve one of the Infinity Stones in Avengers: Infinity War. 

At that time Knowhere was looking more than a little rough with Thanos bringing a wave of destruction to the already severed and rotting head. But in between Avengers: Infinity War and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, the Guardians of the Galaxy took over the criminal base. But the special did at least answer how the Guardians were able to take over the base, they bought it from The Collector himself. But we do not know when the Guardians bought the head. It could be that Rocket Raccoon and Nebula were able to buy Knowhere after the events of Avengers: Infinity War but that seems rather unlikely.

Instead, it is more likely the Guardians acquired the base after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Their consultation fee undoubtedly increased after they saved the universe in Guardians of the Galaxy, and then again in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, so their fee would probably be outrageous after the events of Avengers: Endgame. They would then probably be able to afford The Collector’s fee for Knowhere, although after being attacked by Thanos, he might not have wanted to be reminded of how his home was destroyed, so he might have let it go for a fair price. Of course, we do not know how much the Guardians make, or how much Knowhere could have cost, but we can imagine.

This is not the first time Knowhere has been brought up this year, with Thor: Love and Thunder introducing a possible explanation for how the Celestial’s head was severed. In the comics, Knull was the one who killed the Celestial, removing his head. Knull is the god responsible for the symbiote Venom, so he will probably not show up in the MCU. But that didn’t stop Thor: Love and Thunder from introducing the Necrosword, Knull’s sword which was used to decapitate the Celestial in the comic books. Although the sword was claimed by Gorr in the film, we did not get a hint as to whether the sword was used to kill the Celestial in the MCU. 

Interestingly, they also seem to have matched the source material in that Cosmo seems to be acting as Knowhere’s head of security. If the MCU continues to match the source material, well things are not looking good for Knowhere, but we should find out more when the Guardians of the Galaxy return in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Catch The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special while it is on Disney Plus, and check out Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 when it releases on May 5, 2023.