There is no way to know how deeply into the playbook Marvel plans to go as the MCU prepares itself for the cataclysmic events that undoubtedly await the multiverse in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. And if they choose to debut a character or two ahead of that combo pack, or at some point during, an idea for one of the more powerful beings just entered the chat — Nova, and with a Top Gun: Maverick star tied to it.
The teases for Nova stem back to when James Gunn and Marvel were in concert with the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy when Nova Corps was introduced. And should Marvel decide to finally deliver on those teasers, as they’ve hinted at in recent interviews, Glenn Powell just heard his name tossed into the ring as the one who should get the honor of becoming Richard Rider.
In an interview detailing the inner workings of Hulu’s Chad Powers, a project led by Powell and screenwriter Michael Waldron, it was the latter offering up the former as the actor he’d cast as Nova if he was the power that be in MCU decision-making.
“He’d be a pretty good Nova,” Waldron told The Bingeworthy Podcast, via The Playlist.
And, with that, it’s impossible to unsee the mental imagery of Powell, one of the fastest up-and-coming Hollywood stars, on screen as Nova. Given his success in blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick and Twisters, and several other films before, in-between and after, Waldron might be onto something here.
Finally Debuting Nova Would Be Super
Richard Rider in space as NovaImage via Marvel Comics
It goes without saying there’s still a place in the MCU for Nova’s appearance to resonate deeply, considering his character arc in Marvel’s comics and the fact Avengers: Doomsday is set to pull in superheroes (and supervillains) from all corners of the multiverse. Imbued with the powers of the alien Rhomann Dey with hopes of Rider becoming Nova Prime, Rider is familiar with places MCU fans have already come to know, such as Knowhere, and he’s battled cosmic beings like Silver Surfer — the herald of Galactus in Fantastic Four and The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
With the Fantastic Four entering this dimension after defeating Galactus, getting the attention of the Thunderbolts a.k.a. The New Avengers, it’s fine to circle back to the first sentence in this article as a reminder that there is, in fact, no way to know how deeply into the playbook Marvel plans to go, and maybe they’d be willing to hear Waldron out about Powell as Nova.
The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy is currently streaming on Disney+.
Release Date
August 1, 2014
Runtime
121 minutes
Director
James Gunn
Writers
Nicole Perlman, James Gunn
Producers
Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Nik Korda, Stan Lee, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham