Nova almost made his debut in Avengers: Infinity War

Nova could have made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Avengers: Infinity War.

Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame were massive films that featured a plethora of ideas. But not all of the ideas made it out of the writer’s room. For instance, the Living Tribunal was featured in an early draft of Infinity War. Now it seems another discarded plot points was an appearance from Nova.

Infinity War and Endgame screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely revealed to THR that Nova was featured in an early outline for Infinity War. According to Markus, Richard Rider was to be the sole survivor of Thanos’ attack on Xandar. And from there, he was to play an interesting role:

"“I remember going through several scenarios of Nova. Thanos could come and kill all the Nova Corps, except one guy. Richard Rider, who then becomes … I think in that scenario he became the herald, kind of like the Hulk was [in Infinity War when he crashed into the Sanctum Santorum]. Someone who could come out and tell people. “"

Nova is quickly becoming a character that many would like to see in the MCU. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has expressed an interest in introducing the character. It was even recently reported that the studio is developing a solo film centered on the cosmic hero.

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Richard Rider would have been an interesting addition to Infinity War. Being the powerful character that he is, it would have been completely plausible for him to be the lone survivor of Thanos’ attack. And his attempting to warn others in the universe could have thrown him into some of the film’s key battles.

Conversely, utilizing Nova merely as an intergalactic messenger in his MCU debut would have been somewhat of a disservice to the character. It also would have prevented the writers from providing any details on Richard Rider’s backstory. The idea of Nova being used in the film is similar to Marvel’s original plan to debut Wasp in Captain America: Civil War.

Nova assisting in the fight against Thanos would have been exciting to see, but it would have been at the cost of a proper introduction for the character. On the bright side, the chances of seeing Richard Rider in the MCU appear to be strong.