We first met the Nova Corps in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. However, James Gunn wasn’t interested in bringing Richard Rider to the big screen – he wanted to keep the focus on only one human character – and the Corps was portrayed as little more than a regular intergalactic police force.
Avengers: Infinity War strongly hinted that Thanos had laid waste to them, though that doesn’t mean Marvel Studios can’t still find a way to reintroduce them, with the superpowered Richard Rider among those tasked with protecting the wider universe.
Much has been said about what we can expect from the series in recent days, including plans for classic Fantastic Four villain Annihilus.
Today, scooper Daniel Richtman brings word that there’s an open casting call out for the MCU’s Richard. He also reveals that Marvel Studios/Marvel Television is not set on Nova being white, meaning we could see a person of color in the role.
It makes sense to cast a wide net for this role, particularly as Richard looks set to be a crucial part of future cosmic stories. If it’s true that we’re getting an Annihilation adaptation, Nova being a major part of the next Phases of storytelling – likely the Mutant Saga – is inevitable.
As for who should play Nova, there are endless exciting possibilities out there and we don’t currently know what age range the studio will be looking at.
Last year, Brad Winderbaum – Marvel Studios’ head of streaming, animation, and television – said, “We love Nova. We are in really early development on Nova. We have a new system behind the scenes at Marvel Studios. We’re more like a traditional studio now. We’re developing more than we actually will produce.”
“There are plans to develop Nova. I love Nova, too. I love Richard Rider, too. I hope it gets to the screen,” he added. “The world is always chaos. There’s always things. You gotta conjure these things to make them happen but I would love to see a Nova show, one day.”
Since then, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has said, “It’s happening, it’s coming together. Richard Rider, yep.” He’d go on to confirm it will be “a show” and revealed that, as of last summer, “It’s three or four years out.”
Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist John Romita Sr., Richard Rider first appeared in The Man Called Nova #1 in 1976. He gained his powers when the last surviving Centurion of the Nova Corps, Rhomann Dey, transferred his abilities to him to battle the villain Zorr.
We’re hugely intrigued to see what the future holds in store for Nova on screen and what his introduction will mean for the cosmic corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As always, stay tuned for updates as we have them.