Six years after Kevin Feige claimed that the Human Rocket had “immediate potential” to pop up in the MCU, Marvel Studios finally seems to be ready for Richard Rider to join the fray…a few years from now. First developed as a film with Moon Knight writer Sabir Pirzada working on the script in 2022, Nova was transitioned to television a year later and put on hold while the studio began restructuring its streaming plans. With a new roadmap in place, things started moving on Nova again earlier this year with an eye on a 2025 start of production. With the new year right around the corner, a new report has revealed that Marvel is indeed ready to launch Nova and has brought a veteran TV writer on board to lead the charge.
According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Ed Bernero, who has over 25 years of television experience, has agreed to become the showrunner of Marvel Television’s Nova. Bernero, who created the NBC crime drama Third Watch and wrote more than two dozen episodes of Criminal Minds, is also expected to serve as a writer on the streaming project.
News of Bernero’s deal comes hot on the heels of a report that Nova would introduce the classic Marvel Comics’ villain Annihilus and pit the Bug-Lord against a young team of Nova Corpsmen. Given Bernero‘s background, which also includes Crossing Lines, a crime drama that focuses on an elite team of special investigators, it seems reasonable to assume that while Rider will be the series’ central figure, the other Corps members will feature prominently in the action. With Bernero just now signing on, the studio will begin assembling a writers room and start the casting process.
As only the third project to feature a true showrunner since the studio’s restructuring, there’s not enough data to accurately predict a timeline of events; however, taking a look at the timeline from Terry Matalas‘ taking over as showrunner of the upcoming Vision series in May 2024 to its expected February 2025 start of production, it’s safe to say cameras won’t roll on Nova until the second half of 2025. With Marvel Studios actively seeking to reduce its streaming output, that likely means the series won’t hit Disney Plus until 2027 and may actually be part of the studio’s post-Multiverse Saga plans.
Source: The In”Sneider”, Deadline