More than two years have gone by since we heard that Marvel Studios had hired Moon Knight writer Sabir Pirzada to start developing a Disney+ TV series that would center on the character Nova… but we never heard anything more about Nova until earlier this year, when Brad Winderbaum, the head of streaming, television, and animation at Marvel, told the Phase Zero podcast, “We love Nova. We are in really early development on Nova.” Now, during an interview with ComicBook.com, Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios, has confirmed that a Nova TV series is “happening, it’s coming together.” Since there has been more than one Nova in Marvel comics, Feige also specified that the show will center on the Richard Rider version of the character.
Nova / Richard Rider is a member of the intergalactic police force called the Nova Corps, which was brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Guardians of the Galaxy back in 2014 – so fans of the character have been clamoring for him to make his MCU debut ever since.
If you’re not familiar with Richard Rider, Marvel Fandom provides some background information: “Richard Rider was born in Hempstead, New York. As a teenager, he was chosen at random by the alien Rhomann Dey, last surviving Centurion of the planet Xandar’s elite Nova Corps, to inherit his power and succeed him in the rank of Nova Prime following the destruction of his world by the intergalactic pirate Zorr. Having been mortally wounded in the battle that tore Xandar apart, Dey succeeded in tracking Zorr to Earth, but he was unable to exact vengeance himself due to the extent of his injuries. At death’s door, Dey had little choice but to transfer his power to an unsuspecting human on the planet below, gambling that whoever he found would be willing to take up his cause and prove worthy of the powers he had given their recipient.” Wikipedia adds that the power Rider inherited from Dey gives him “access to the Nova Force and superhuman abilities including enhanced strength, flight and resistance to injury.“
In the MCU, Thanos already made a mess of Xandar and the Nova Corps back during the Avengers: Infinity War days, so the TV show could use that event as the set-up instead of an attack by Zorr… but Avengers: Infinity War was several years ago and Thanos was killed off, so they might want to make the event that forces Dey to pass his powers to Rider something more recent, and something that involves a villain who’s still alive.
Winderbaum had made sure that fans wouldn’t get their hopes up too high for Nova, telling Phase Zero it might not make it into production at all. He said, “We have a new system behind the scenes at Marvel Studios. We’re more like a traditional studio now. We are developing more than we actually will produce. So, there are plans to develop Nova. I love Nova too. I love Rich Rider too. I hope it gets to the screen. You know, the world is chaos. There’s always things. It’s hard to make anything. You’ve got to kind of conjure these things to make them happen, But, I would like to see a Nova show one day.” Feige was more hopeful, telling ComicBook.com that “It’s three or four years out.“
Are you a fan of the Richard Rider character, and would you like to see the Nova TV series make it into production? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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