It’s worth noting that Bacon’s role in the Holiday Special was to help unite the Guardians as a family, which is very much what the mere suggestion of Kevin Bacon was able to do in the first “Guardians of the Galaxy.” It was Quill telling Gamora about “Footloose” that brought them closer together as a romantic pair, and it also happened to set up the big finale of that movie.
Remember, “Guardians of the Galaxy” was a movie driven by music. Not only did James Gunn write direct references to “Footloose” into the film, he also infused it with rockin’ needle drops and even bookended the movie with dancing. Star-Lord dances to Blue Swede’s “Hooked on a Feeling” as he recovers the orb containing the Power Stone, and the movie ends with a dance-off that defeats Ronan the Accuser by bringing all the newly formed Guardians together as one family, ready to put their own lives on the line for the others.
This parallel wasn’t lost on Bacon, either. He called “Footloose” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” “symbiotic,” and he’s not wrong. The joy of music and expressing yourself through dance are crucial throughlines to both films, so it seems like Bacon was destined to join up with the Guardians of the Galaxy, even if he’s only an honorary Guardian.
Although, we’ve probably not seen the last of the “Guardians of the Galaxy,” so who knows? Maybe Kevin Bacon will join up with the new team down the line? One can only hope.