Nova would never join the Guardians of the Galaxy as long as Star-Lord was there. James Gunn, who wrote and directed all three Guardians of the Galaxy Movies, recently shared how Star-Lord blocked Nova from appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe trilogy.

Reply to a fan in Threads who asked why Nova wasn’t included in any of the threads GotG films, Gunn wrote, “I just wanted a human.” In all three films Peter Quill/Star-Lord (played by Chris Pratt) is the only human on the cosmic teamwith the other members being either aliens, animals, or the God of Thunder, Thor. Nova, the pseudonym of Richard Rider, introduced in the comics in 1976 as a New York high school student, would have been one person too many for Gunn’s liking. Richard Rider/Nova was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist John Romita Sr. and first appeared in Marvel Comics’ The man called Nova No. 1 in 1976. He is a member of the Nova Corps, a cosmic police force introduced by Gunn in the first part of the MCU Guardians of the Galaxy Film.

A Nova series is in the works for Disney+

Richard Rider/Nova may have never appeared in one Guardians of the Galaxy film, but that doesn’t mean Marvel Studios doesn’t have plans for the cosmic superhero. It was first reported that an MCU series centered around Nova was in development in 2022, although Marvel Studios only officially confirmed the project earlier this year. While other characters have used the Nova title in the comics, such as young superhero Sam Alexander, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed in July 2024 that Richard Rider will be Nova in the MCU, at least initially.

Not much was communicated about this nova series yet, although Feige shared back in July that the series was still “three or four years” away from release, meaning fans may have to wait until 2027 or 2028 nova to premiere on Disney+. In September 2024, Brad Winderbaum – head of streaming, television and animation at Marvel Studios – announced this nova will be “an amazing ensemble piece” with a “great cast of characters.” He also shared that the series has “shades of (star) Hikeit has shades of Battlestar (Galactica), but it also feels like if you know these comics, you know how heated, say, Richard Rider’s world can be, and it definitely encompasses all of that.”

Is Guardians of the Galaxy 4 coming?

While Marvel Studios hasn’t announced a fourth yet Guardian Film at this time, 2023 Vol. 3 has introduced a new line-up for the cosmic team, consisting of Rocket, Groot, Adam Warlock, Kraglin, Cosmo and Phyla. However, Marvel confirmed this after Volume 3 points out that “the legendary Star-Lord” will return in future MCU projects, meaning that at least Pratt’s Peter Quill will appear in a future film. If Marvel moves forward with a fourth GuardianIt probably wouldn’t be written and directed by Gunn, who has signed an exclusive deal with DC Studios for the foreseeable future.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Trilogy is streaming on Disney+.

Source: Threads