During a recent interview with ComicBook.com, Marvel Studios executive Brad Winderbaum finally addressed the long-rumored Nova project, confirming that the studio is indeed looking to introduce the fan-favorite hero to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Winderbaum also discussed the “new system” they have at Marvel Studios following a series of underwhelming box office performance and Disney+ ratings. The blockbuster studio intends to shift its focus on the development phase of projects rather than trying to increase the quantity of projects they’re producing.
“We love Nova. We are in really early development on Nova,” Winderbaum said. “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 Rich Rider, too. I hope it gets to the screen. 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.”
Who is Nova?
Created by Marv Wolfman and John Romita Sr., Nova first appeared in the September 1976 issue of Super Adventures titled “The Man Called Nova.” In the comics, Richard Rider is known as the first iteration of the hero. He’s a teenager who became a member of the intergalactic police force Nova Corps, after suddenly inheriting the powers from the cosmic helmet of Rhomann Dey, the last surviving Centurion of the planet Xandar’s elite Nova Corps.
Since the Nova Corps’ live-action debut in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, MCU fans have been speculating the hero’s arrival for a long time now. Marvel Studios’ untitled Nova project was first announced in 2022, with Moon Knight scribe Sabir Pirzada attached to write the live-action story. It’s still unclear if the upcoming project is being developed as a feature film or a Disney+ series.