An Overlooked MCU Spinoff Is Getting A Complete Overhaul
Nova just got a novel retooling.
In massive franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not everything makes it to production. Projects are announced as being in development all the time, and then that’s the last fans hear of them until they’re eventually shelved years later. But shelved doesn’t always mean canceled, and in rare circumstances, movies or TV shows can be sent back to the drawing board and retooled.
That’s exactly what’s happened to a Disney+ MCU TV series that was announced all the way back in 2022. It may have been among the many shows shelved early last year, but now it’s getting a new lease on life with a prominent writer attached.
The Nova Corps have appeared in many animated series, but have yet to play more than a minor role in live action.
According to Deadline, Nova is now being developed as a movie. Nova, the story of Richard Rider, a member of the intergalactic police known as the Nova Corps, was first announced four years ago as a TV series with a script by Marvel Comics’ Sabir Pirzada. In 2024, it was announced that Criminal Minds’ Ed Bernero would write the series, but in February 2025, it was shelved alongside Strange Academy and Terror, Inc.
Now, however, Nova is back in development in a new form and with a new mastermind: Michael Waldron is attached to write and possibly direct. Waldron is a longtime Marvel veteran who wrote and showran Loki, wrote Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and is currently assisting Stephen McFeely and the Russo brothers with the scripts for Doomsday and Secret Wars. He also has a lot of experience outside of Marvel, including showrunning the series Heels and Chad Powers.
Michael Waldron specialized in multiversal and intergalactic stories for Marvel.
Waldron’s experience on Doctor Strange, Rick and Morty, and Loki makes him a good fit for complicated cosmic stories, and Nova’s sure to fall along those lines. Loki introduced the Time Variance Authority, and the Nova Corps are a similarly huge force that governs space instead of time.
Regardless of who’s behind the script, Nova fans must be relieved that the project is back in development. And if Nova can be retooled even after being officially shelved, the same thing could happen to any other MCU project. Except Blade. Blade is doomed.
Nova does not yet have a release date.
