While we may not be getting a new Guardians of the Galaxy film any time soon, we are apparently getting a Nova TV series – which will have a “young and sexy” vibe, as per recent reports.
Every project released under the MCU banner may technically be set in its own universe, but Guardians of the Galaxy has always felt like a separate entity. Thanks to the personal touch of its writer and director, James Gunn, the trilogy (and its holiday special) had a more unique sense of storytelling and humor—not to mention a stellar soundtrack—that set it apart from the rest of the franchise.
Sadly, with the release of Guardian of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (2023), it seems like the franchise has met its natural end. Several cast members, including Zoë Saldana (Gamora) and Dave Bautista (Drax), have claimed that their time in the MCU is done, while Gunn himself has exited to lead DC’s new creative chapter, beginning with Superman (2025).
While Star-Lord’s (Chris Pratt) return was teased in the credits of the final film, we’re still no closer to learning if or when that may become a reality. Instead, our next outing to overlap with Guardians of the Galaxy canon is Marvel’s upcoming Nova project.
Marvel’s Nova Series
The Nova Corps was mentioned on multiple occasions in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, with the intergalactic police force playing a key role in the franchise’s first outing. The force is based on Xandar, which served as a setting for multiple scenes in the same film, and has also played a part in Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Walt Disney World Resort.
While there were previously plans to introduce Richard Rider—AKA Nova himself—into the franchise, Gunn noted that he decided against doing so out of his interest in having Peter Quill as the only human character in the series. Now that the Guardians trilogy is over, Marvel is apparently very keen to get its Nova project off the ground.
As per scooper @MyTimeToShineH (via ComicBookMovie), Marvel has reached out to writers to ask them to pitch for the show. Most interestingly, Marvel is apparently very keen to have the show feel “young and sexy,” with the goal being to capture “the energy of 80s military movies” with Annihilus – who primarily serves as an antagonist for the Fantastic Four in Marvel Comics – as the main villain.
While it’s unclear what direction Marvel is taking, one pitch was “essentially Starship Troopers, with Richard Rider in Casper’s arc as a sort of cocky jerk who falls in love with Namorita, joins the Nova Corps, and gets assigned to a backwater ‘Outer Rim’-like planet that becomes the first phase of the Annihilus wave.”
Another pitch apparently “treated the Annihilation Wave like the bugs in Starship Troopers, really leaning into the theme of how the Nova Corps uses propaganda to police the galaxy and recruit members.”
Beau DeMayo—the former showrunner of Marvel’s X-Men ’97—confirmed that this information was pretty accurate and outlined his own ideas for multiple seasons of the show.
DeMayo also claimed that he was “in the midst of discussions about developing #Nova once #xmen97 Season 3 wrapped.” However, DeMayo was fired by Marvel Studios in March 2024, before the first season of X-Men ’97 aired on Disney+, due to what Disney later described as the “egregious nature” of findings in an “internal investigation.” He has since accused Marvel and Disney of “egregious prejudicial misconduct” in a 30-minute video shared to his OnlyFans profile.
How do you feel about Marvel’s vision for its Nova series?
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