Marvel Wants to Develop its ‘Nova’ Comics Character For Movies or TV

Marvel's Nova. Photo courtesy of Marvel.com.

You might think that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is already crammed with characters across its many movies and TV series, but that’s a drop in the bucket compared to the overflowing pages of Marvel comics.

And with some major characters being retired as actors decide to leave the roles behind (yes, we know, the Multiverse means the various popular choices can always return in new forms), Marvel boss Kevin Feige and his team are busy introducing a pack of new powerful people.

According to Deadline, the character of Nova is set to join the MCU via a new movie or TV series. In true Marvel fashion, nothing has been announced or confirmed, nor has the site’s sources learned whether it’ll be on the big or small screen.

The only concrete detail right now appears to be that Sabir Pirzada, one of the writers on ‘Moon Knight’, has been tasked with a 'Nova' project.

Nova, created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist John Buscema, is a human with the real name Richard Rider. A normal young man randomly selected by Rhomann Dey to be a member of the Nova Corps as the rest of them were dying. Quickly embracing his newfound powers, he jumps into action and becomes a charismatic, powerful force for justice across the galaxy. The character has been around since the late 1960s with the more popular Rider version debuting in 1976's ‘The Man Called Nova #1’

In his time, he’s had the usual deep storyline history, losing his powers at one point, and working odd jobs before being thrown (literally, off a building) back into the superhero life and joining the New Warriors. He’s also seen a personality shift from an earlier, quippier, Peter Parker style of backchat with baddies to a darker mood following some massive tragedies.

Oh, and his Nova uniform includes a music library, which could be an interesting quirk – though given that a certain MCU character is known for his music (see below), that might not end up on screen.

How Rider might be introduced into the MCU is unknown at this point. There’s always a chance he could be stealthily launched in some other project – he played a big part in the ‘Secret Invasion’ storyline and that series is on the way featuring Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and ‘Captain Marvel’ veteran Ben Mendelsohn as the Skrull Thanos.

But then there’s also ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' and its 'Holiday Special.' Nova’s closest connections have been with the Nova Force and its intergalactic powers, and James Gunn is on record as a big fan of the character. Still, while he’s said in the past that he didn’t want to use Rider to keep Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord as the only human in the ‘Guardians’ movies, that could all change with the third movie promising big shifts in the line-up.

However he makes his debut – whether that is in someone else’s show/movie or with a full launch in an origin story – Nova is certainly a character that fans have been looking forward to seeing. And it’s yet another sign that Marvel is going more and more cosmic with its character choices.

Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe.