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Marvel Studios is starting to make headway on developing its future slate, which now includes making a movie the Marvel Cinematic Universe has spent over a decade setting up. All eyes are on Spider-Man: Brand New Day's release in a few weeks, which leads into Avengers: Doomsday's launch at the end of the year and Avengers: Secret Wars' debut in 2027. But much more is on the horizon.
It's confirmed Marvel is deep into development on Black Panther 3 and its X-Men reboot. Both movies have directors attached and are expected to begin production within the next year, as they are anticipated to hit theaters in 2028. There are several dates Disney has already confirmed through 2029 for the franchise to fill, and Marvel Studios has plenty of MCU movies in development.
This next wave of productions will help form the MCU post-Avengers: Secret Wars, which will reset the franchise to some degree. This will certainly include bringing back major heroes like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Captain America, Shang-Chi, the Fantastic Four, and others. But Marvel is also looking to expand its roster by introducing other heroes from the comics who have yet to come to the screen.
That is what's happening with Nova, a new movie being written by Michael Waldron (Loki, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). Richard Rider aka Nova is a member of the intergalactic force known as the Nova Corps and one of the biggest cosmic characters the comics have to offer. Development on Nova picking up now indicates Marvel envisions it as part of its Phase 7 plans, paying off years of setup in the process.
Marvel Has Been Setting Up A Nova Movie Since 2014
Nova became a character who seemed on the verge of an MCU introduction thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy. The 2014 movie directed by James Gunn saw the Guardians team come into conflict with the Nova Corps, who arrest them for their activities on Xandar, the Nova Corps' home planet.
Guardians of the Galaxy is thus responsible for introducing two major aspects of Nova's story. It didn't stop there. Nova Prime and Rhomann Dey made their MCU debuts in the movie, bringing additional significant characters into the picture. Nova Prime is the leader of the Nova Corps, while Rhomann Dey is responsible for gifting Richard Rider with his Nova powers in the comics.
While Guardians of the Galaxy doesn't display any of the Nova Corps members having powers of the Nova Force, which Rider traditionally does. Still, the use of key locations and groups associated with Nova suggested to many that he was someone audiences would see quickly. That did not happen.
2014 marked the MCU's first foray into the cosmic side of this franchise, and Guardians of the Galaxy proved to be a huge hit. Additional characters and franchises in that space would have made sense, but Marvel went the opposite direction. Nova was kept out of the entire Infinity Saga, and it appears he'll miss out on the Multiverse Saga, too. But that hasn't stopped Marvel from setting up his debut further.
Avengers: Infinity War Delivered More Nova Setup
Four years after the Nova Corps' introduction, Avengers: Infinity War brought them to ruins. The movie confirms that Thanos and his army went to Xandar to retrieve the Power Stone, which the Guardians entrusted Nova Prime and her forces to protect. They did just that for a few years, but the Mad Titan took matters into his own hands in 2018 and destroyed the civilization as we knew it, creating a path for Nova's origin in the process.
In the comics, he only gets his powers after Xandar is attacked and destroyed, with Dey being the last of the Corpsmen and passing on his abilities. The destruction of Xandar and the Nova Corps, including (presumably) Nova Prime's death, put the MCU in a spot that directly aligns with Nova's comic book origin. Kevin Feige even said Nova had "immediate potential" to join the MCU leading up to Infinity War's release.
Theories ran wild after this revelation that Nova would be in Avengers: Endgame and help get revenge on Thanos. While that did not happen, speculation has continued that Nova will bring Thanos back and finally show his attack on Xandar as a way to show audiences this bit of Richard Rider's backstory that has otherwise just been mentioned briefly.
Why Nova's Movie Has Taken This Long To Happen
2026's report of Michael Waldron developing a Nova movie is not the first time the cosmic hero has become the star of a proposed Marvel Studios project. Reports of it being in consideration go years back, such as a suggestion in 2021 that it would be made in 2023 or 2024, but the delay on Nova's introduction is mostly the result of Guardians of the Galaxy.
James Gunn had a lot of control over that franchise (with him even being set up to spearhead the MCU's entire cosmic side of storytelling at one point), and one of his mandates was not having another human in this realm. Peter Quill aka Star-Lord already gave the franchise one human who became a cosmic hero, and Gunn did not want another. As a result, Nova was kept out of Guardians of the Galaxy and Marvel lost its easiest pathway to make Nova as a spinoff of an already successful franchise.
Marvel eventually found an idea worth chasing for Nova in 2022, when the project was confirmed to be in development. Sabir Pirzada (Moon Knight) was tapped to write the project, which was not known to be a Disney+ show or theatrical movie at the time of the initial report. It was later clarified that this was meant to be a streaming series, with Feige suggesting it would be ready for 2027 or 2028. Marvel later hired Ed Bernero (Criminal Minds) to be the lead writer.
The Nova show was effectively canceled in 2025 when Marvel paused development on multiple titles to re-evaluate its Disney+ productions. Now just over a year later, Marvel has rekindled its interest in Richard Rider and decided to put his solo project on the big screen instead of streaming.
Nova's Delayed Movie Debut Could Benefit The MCU's Newest Hero
Waiting this long to get Nova in the MCU isn't what many expected after Guardians of the Galaxy, but the prolonged wait may have been a blessing in disguise. There's a good chance that if Nova had been introduced earlier on, he would've entered the franchise as a supporting character in a Guardians of the Galaxy movie, similar to Adam Warlock, instead of getting a solo project right away.
With the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy over and the team's future unclear, there is a major cosmic void for Marvel to fill. Nova can now do that and become the new face of the MCU's cosmic storytelling. He can still come into contact with Star-Lord or Rocket's new Guardians team, but Nova will now have the space to become the most prominent space-based MCU hero.
That opens the door for all types of exciting possibilities. Nova at the forefront of an Annihilation adaptation, becoming a figurehead for the Guardians of the Galaxy, sparking a romance with Gamora, and eventually mentoring Sam Alexander are but a few of the options at Marvel Studios' disposal. How much, if any, of that makes it into Nova's first movie remains to be seen, but the future is bright for Richard Rider at long last.
