The Nova Corps. had been introduced as Marvel’s version of the Green Lantern Corps as far back as the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but they have since been absent from any major Marvel events.
A Nova series has been rumored to be in the works for a while now, and there seems to be a small update on the project.
Nova Prime and Rhomann Dey Returning? New Rumor Says So
According to scooper @MyTimeToShineH (via ComicBookMovie), the Nova Corps. Disney+ series is looking to bring John C. Reilly (Rohmann Dey) and Glenn Close (Nova Prime) back to the MCU.
No more details have been revealed as to their involvement, or how far along the project is, but based on the events of the MCU, it can be inferred that the Nova Corps. is currently in disarray, and Marvel is gearing up for the introduction of the character of Richard Rider.
The Nova Corps. in the MCU
The Nova Corps. was first introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy as a sort of space police that acted as a tertiary antagonist to the Guardians—eventually teaming up with them when Ronan the Accuser attacks to planet of Xandar.
Though it wasn’t shown onscreen, it was implied that Thanos had decimated Xandar in his search for the Power Stone—which the Nova Corps. were watching over it after Peter Quill handed it over to them.
Ever since the Infinity War, there hasn’t been any update on the Nova Corps., and it’s kind of implied that the Guardians are the ones who took over the job of policing the galaxy from their new hideout on Knowhere (which was where they operated from in the comics).
Richard Rider’s Origin
While the character of Nova Prime really is just a mantle for who leads the Corps., it’s really Rohmann Dey who’s the important character when it comes to Marvel’s Nova. It’s him who entrusts the power of the Nova Corps to a young Richard Rider.
His slow promotion has already been shown by the end of the first Guardians movie, and after Thanos’ attack on Xandar, it can be implied that Dey is the last of the Corps, and he would be the one to entrust his powers to an unknowing human.
With the Nova Corps being pretty powerful as themselves having split the energy of the Nova Force among its members, fans can imagine just how powerful Marvel’s Nova is going to be. Then again, they will have to find a way to distinguish him from other powerhouses in the universe like Captain Marvel, Adam Warlock, and the incoming Thunderbolt member, Sentry.
Is Nova Still Happening?
As of now, Marvel has been pretty mum about any updates on Nova, and it looks like their main focus right now is the introduction of the Fantastic Four and the build-up to Avengers: Secret Wars.
Should a Nova project happen, it does look like they could be waiting till after the events of Secret Wars, but it’s possible they could introduce a Nova Corps from an alternate timeline that wasn’t destroyed by Thanos. Maybe they can just introduce them as a fodder faction, like Thanos’ outriders or his Chitauri.
A Nova series has not been officially announced by Marvel Studios.