James Gunn Explains Why Nova Was Left Out of the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Movies

The Nova Corps were introduced in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (2014) as the peacekeeping force of Xandar, a planet in the Andromeda galaxy. They protect the galaxy and guard the Orb, which turns out to be the Power Stone. In ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018), it’s revealed that Thanos destroyed Xandar off-screen to steal the Power Stone.

The organization was often referenced and often showcased, and yet, their likely most popular member Nova himself was left out and as far as we know, doesn’t even exist in the MCU currently.

James Gunn recently addressed this issue on Threads, as he was asked by a fan why Nova wasn’t included in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movies. The director explained that he wanted only one human being.

View on Threads

This is not the first time that Gunn has used this logic as the director previously explained that he changed Drax’s origin for pretty much the same reason. He didn’t want too many humans in a space-focused story.

He felt a space opera full of Earthlings wouldn’t make sense and would be hard to explain quickly. Instead, he wanted the Guardians to feel like a mix of aliens and outcasts from across the galaxy. This made the team more unique and fit the tone he was going for.

I didn’t want to make a space opera with a dozen earthlings who just coincidentally found themselves in space,

How could I even explain that in the 1st 20 minutes of a movie? I wanted a group of aliens & orphans from different planets who banded together.

Gunn had the opportunity to debut Nova but eventually decided against it. However, the character will, if everything goes according to plan be introduced soon.

Over six months ago, Marvel confirmed plans for a live-action ‘Nova’ series, but warned that early development doesn’t always mean a project will happen. Recently, Marvel’s Winderbaum shared good news on the Phase Hero podcast: the ‘Nova’ show has moved past early development and is making solid progress.

It’s in development, you know, like we talked about at D23, we’re developing more than we make so it is kind of brewing in the pot. But there’s a lot to be excited about. What I’ve seen so far is extremely promising. I’ll say that.

Especially like tonally. The vibe of that show is very unique and very cool.

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