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Nova Has ‘Immediate Potential’ in the MCU
Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige teases Nova‘s “immediate potential” to be brought into the MCU sooner rather than later. The release of Avengers: Infinity War may be at the forefront of the minds of many, but Marvel is already looking far into the future. They still have three movies left in Phase 3 after Thanos’ arrival, and work is underway on a number of Phase 4 titles. Black Widow recently found a writer, and Feige confirmed Spider-Man: Homecoming 2‘s international adventure, but the cosmos will also be a major piece.
James Gunn is returning to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but he’s also helping Marvel shape the next decade of cosmic stories. He’s previously said that Nova is definitely in consideration to be brought in, but that was last fall and there’s been no word on his status since.
Kevin Feige provided some insight into how Marvel Studios views Nova while speaking to ComicBook as part of Infinity War‘s press tour. It sounds like Feige is on the same page as Gunn and views Nova as someone who can come in sooner rather than later and establish himself as a major part of the MCU.
Nova is… if we have a big board with a bunch of characters that have more immediate potential, Nova is on that board. Because of the connection to the Guardians universe, because there are more than one examples to pull from in the comics that are interesting. And you’re absolutely right, he was in the earliest drafts of the [Guardians of the Galaxy].
Considering Marvel Studios has yet to officially confirm what the plans are after Avengers 4 (outside of Spidey’s sequel), Feige isn’t quite ready to detail how or when Nova would be introduced. We have our theory for how Infinity War is leading to Nova’s introduction, but a proper showing from Richard Rider could come with Guardians 3 at the earliest. If seeds of his arrival aren’t teased there, then fans may just have to wait for a possible solo movie to see Nova really brought to life.
Everyone will have a better understanding for how Nova can become involved after seeing Infinity War, but there’s already clues. Thanos has the Power Stone in the trailers, so he’s going to have to visit Xandar, the home of the Nova Corps, to retrieve it. There forces already took a hit during Ronan’s attack, and they clearly won’t be able to stop Thanos either. If they continue to draw from Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning Guardians of the Galaxy run, then it won’t be surprising to learn down the road that Richard was involved in these fights, but is now the only member of the Nova Corps left.
Nova is one of Marvel’s biggest cosmic heroes after all, so it was only a matter of time before he joined the MCU. Now that the universe may be losing a few major players, though, there could certainly be a void left to fill. Marvel is developing decades of cosmic stories too, so whether it’s a new Guardians movie or a solo movie, there continues to be momentum building for Nova’s MCU debut.
KEY RELEASE DATES
Avengers: Infinity War / The Avengers 3 release date: Apr 27, 2018
Ant-Man & The Wasp release date: Jul 6, 2018
Captain Marvel release date: Mar 8, 2019
The Avengers 4 / Untitled Avengers Movie release date: May 3, 2019
Untitled Spider-Man: Homecoming Sequel release date: Jul 5, 2019
