Avengers: Endgame writers wanted to introduce Nova in Infinity War

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Hulk ended up taking Nova’s role in Infinity War

(Image credit: Marvel/Disney)

Avengers writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have revealed their original plans to bring Nova into the MCU – with Avengers: Infinity War earmarked as the moment the cosmic superhero was supposed to touch down in the MCU.

“I remember in the big manifesto thing that we did, where the first work we did on these movies where we just... every possible storyline that you could take from what's around, that Nova has the Xandarian Worldmind,” Markus explained to ComicBook.com.

The Xandarian Worldmind, for those unaware, is essentially a sentient Wikipedia, detailing the lives and history of the planet of Xandar. Nova would have absorbed all that knowledge, which would have been handy in the wake of Thanos’ off-screen razing of the planet (which featured in Guardians of the Galaxy) to steal the Power Stone.

Markus elaborated further about his role in Infinity War: “In this conception, he would be the herald, not unlike the Hulk, who was actually standing in for the Silver Surfer, but that one member of the Nova Corps survived Thanos' attack. The Xandarian Worldmind would be the voice of Glenn Close, because you had her and why not? And that he would be Richard Rider and he would come to Earth.”

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.