Marvel fans have been waiting to see Nova in the MCU for the longest time and patience has been running particularly thin since Kevin Feige revealed that the character was definitely on the cards and yet no Nova movie was announced as part of the Phase 4 slate. The good news, though, is that we’re now hearing the project is finally moving into active development.
We Got This Covered has been informed that the pic is at long last starting to come together. Sources have told us that Richard Rider, the original incarnation of the cosmic hero, will be the one used in the film and what’s more, The Maze Runner‘s Dylan O’Brien is one of the actors being eyed for the lead role. The ex-Teen Wolf star isn’t necessarily the favorite, but he is one name on the studio’s shortlist.
In the comics, Rider – your average New York high school student – is given the power of the Nova Force by Rhomann Dey, the last surviving member of the Nova Corps of the planet Xandar. Of course, Dey himself has already previously appeared in the MCU, as played by John C. Reilly, in Guardians of the Galaxy, and Xandar was also decimated in Avengers: Infinity War, leaving the door open for Rider’s emergence as Nova.
Previous reports have pointed to Nova possibly featuring in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 first before then spinning off into his own solo movie. This would make sense, considering the Nova Corps’ ties to the franchise, though we’re still waiting on a release date for the threequel.
Given that a Nova film is just entering active development, however, it’s likely that Vol. 3 will still be here before it. So, could O’Brien or whoever lands the role drop by for the final Guardians installment? Time will tell, but for now, it’s just good to know that the project is finally taking flight, and given that this intel comes to us from the same sources who said Viola Davis was returning in The Suicide Squad and Black Knight was coming to the MCU, there’s no reason to doubt it.