Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which just finally premiered on Disney Plus, is mostly a very standalone festive adventure. However, it does change the status quo for our cosmic heroes in a couple of notable ways. For starters, it drops a game-changing revelation about the relationship between Star-Lord and Mantis (even if it got spoiled ahead of time). Secondly, it introduces a new member of the team. And that’s Cosmo the Spacedog.
Cosmo has instantly made a big impression on fans, with the talking telepathic pooch serving as the best part of the special for a lot of viewers. At the same time, though, you’d be forgiven for being a little confused about how Cosmo fits into proceedings as they’re introduced as already being pally with the Guardians without any explanation. So who is Cosmo, where have we seen them before, and where will we see them again? Here are your answers.
Who is Cosmo the Spacedog?
Cosmo is a beloved part of the Guardians’ lore in the comics, and one readers have been eagerly awaiting to have a big role in the MCU for a while now. Originally a dog sent into space by the Soviet Union, Cosmo was mutated by cosmic rays and gained telepathic abilities. They eventually became the security chief of Knowhere, the Guardians’ HQ, and served as an honorary member of their crew.
As for the MCU version, Cosmo previously appeared in a couple of scenes in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, as a part of the Collector’s menagerie. They went unnamed in this movie and weren’t necessarily shown to possess their powers. Going by their role in the Holiday Special, we can infer that Cosmo thankfully survived the destruction of the Collector’s collection at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. An alternate Cosmo likewise turned up in episode two of What If…? season one.
As we learn in the special, the Guardians have since bought Knowhere from the Collector and are renovating it, using it as their home base. The reintroduced Cosmo is confirmed to be female, rather than male as in the comics, and is depicted as possessing her telepathic powers. She also speaks with a heavy Russian accent thanks to a gadget in the collar of her spacesuit. She’s voiced by Borat 2 and Bodies, Bodies, Bodies star Maria Bakalova.
Will Cosmo appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?
Now that Cosmo is here, it thankfully looks like she’s sticking around. It was previously announced that Bakalova would be joining the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, even before we knew she would appear in the Holiday Special. This makes Cosmo the only major new character coming in the threequel to first feature in this Special Presentation, as Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock and Chukwudi Iwuji’s High Evolutionary are nowhere to be found.
It’s currently unclear, however, exactly what Cosmo’s role will be in Vol. 3, although perhaps we can glean something from how she fits into the Holiday Special. From her screentime with Rocket and appearance in the post-credits scene, it looks like Cosmo will become a third member of the fan-favorite Rocket and Groot dynamic. Remember, Guardians 3 is set to be all about Rocket, as he learns the truth of his origins, so by that logic, Cosmo should get a lot to do in the movie.
Ahead of Vol. 3 hitting theaters next May 5., you can stream The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney Plus.
