For the last few years now, certain corners of the internet have been telling us comic book movies are on their way out. “They’re about to supernova,” they say. But perhaps we heard them wrong. Perhaps what they really meant to say is they’re about to get super Nova — as in the deep-cut Marvel Comics superhero, Nova. That’s the message we’re getting from Deadline at least, which is reporting that Loki creator/head writer Michael Waldron is developing a Nova movie at Marvel Studios, with hopes to write — and potentially also direct — the MCU debut of the supe formerly known as Richard Rider.
If the headline ‘Writer Developing Nova Project For Marvel’ is ringing some bells for you, then that’d be because it isn’t the first time a Marvel Cinematic Universe entrance for Rider’s super-strong, injury-resistant, flying hero has been floated. Back in 2022, Moon Knight writers room regular Sabir Pirzada was in the frame to take the lesser-known comics character and give him his own TV series — though those plans officially fizzled out last year. Last week however, a leak of Michael Waldron’s WGA card revealed a Nova project in his pipeline, leading to Deadline‘s sources doing some further digging to now confirm that the Multiverse Of Madness writer — whose most recent venture, Disney+ comedy Chad Powers, has proven a hit with fans and critics — is actively pitching a new, feature-length take on Nova to Marvel’s top brass.
Nothing has been officially greenlit just yet, it is worth noting, however Kevin Feige’s continued interest in Nova is self-evident at this point and the onboarding of a writer of Waldron’s Marvel standing is promising to say the least. And with Richard Rider — a character whose comic book origins essentially boil down to “teenage kid gets plucked from Earth at random and becomes a super-powered member of the space police” — intentionally having a nerdy, quippy personality modelled on one Peter Parker, who’s long since left high school behind by the time we get to the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, now may be the perfect time for the MCU to go full super Nova. Watch this space!
