The Marvel rumor mill never sleeps. Anonymous sources are reporting that Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige is in talks with a young actor who has appeared in a Christopher Nolan film for the lead role in a Nova feature. Some observers have a few ideas as to who that might be.
The rumor was reported by YouTuber TVO during a recent episode of his video series, Lords of the Long Box. While he didn’t offer any suggestions about the possible identity of the actor who is supposedly up for the plum role, the folks at Cosmic Book News took the rumor and identified a few stars who have worked with Nolan, and who physically fit the bill for the part of Nova. Among them: Harry Styles, Fionn Whitehead, and Barry Keoghan, all of whom appeared in Nolan’s 2017 flick Dunkirk. Also singled out as a possibility was Timothée Chalamet, who popped up in 2014’s Interstellar.
Now, this would be exciting news if it turns out to be accurate – but frankly, we have our doubts. It must be pointed out that no Nova feature has even been confirmed at this time. Still, there are a couple of strong indications that the character is being prepped for entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In case you’re not familiar, the original Nova is the heroic identity of Richard Rider, an earthling who was imbued with the power and knowledge of the entire Nova Corps, the armed forces of the planet Xandar, when their home planet is destroyed. As Nova, Rider has super-strength, can fly faster than light, can generate blasts of cosmic energy, and is possessed of the “Xandarian worldmind.”
Our first clue regarding the character’s impending arrival in the MCU came during Avengers: Infinity War, when it was revealed that Xandar had been obliterated by Thanos.
In the comics, Rider is gifted with the collective power of the Nova Corps by Rhomann Dey, who was portrayed in the first Guardian film by John C. Reilly. That means that all of the ingredients for the creation of Nova are already present in the MCU, which simplifies his eventual introduction to the franchise.
Our second hint comes from none other than Feige himself, who has teased his interest in Nova on multiple occasions. As far back as April 2018, Feige told ComicBook.com:
“If we have a big board with a bunch of characters that have more immediate potential, Nova is on that board. Because of the connection to the Guardians universe, because there are more than one examples to pull from in the comics that are interesting.”
Feige also noted that the character was present in the earliest drafts of Guardians of the Galaxy. All of these things considered, it sure seems like Nova’s entry into the MCU is inevitable. However, there’s ample reason to view this rumor with a healthy amount of skepticism.
The biggest problem to Nova’s introduction is that we already know every film and TV series Marvel will be producing through 2021, and Nova is not among them. For that matter, neither is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is thought to be coming in Phase 5 and which should drop sometime in 2022 or 2023. If Nova doesn’t get his own solo feature right off the bat, it’s reasonable to think that he may pop up in that film.
Phase 5, however, is still pretty far down the road – and it’s not likely that Feige and Marvel would be seeking to cast the part of Nova at this early date. A potential Nova solo film wouldn’t even begin production for at least a couple years, and Guardians 3 writer/director James Gunn will be finishing up his work on The Suicide Squad before returning to Marvel.
With any good fortune, we’ll get some hard news regarding Nova’s future involvement in the MCU sooner rather than later. We’ll keep our eye out for any developments, and keep you informed.
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