MCU's Cosmic Movies Should Focus on Nova

Whatever happens in Avengers: Infinity War and its untitled sequel Avengers 4, it's at least a safe bet that Thanos will leave devastation in his wake. After these two event movies, the shape of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be altered, its foundations shaken, part of its cast retired and its future... well, that's a mystery. We know that the MCU will press on, however, that a new Spider-Man film will be coming, that there will be another Black Panther adventure, and that the Guardians of the Galaxy will return for a third volume.

We also know that much of the future of the MCU lies in the stars. Late last year, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed that beyond the next two Avengers films, he would like to see more superheroes have adventures in outer space. If the next crop of MCU movies is set to leave their Earth roots to embrace the endless reaches of the cosmos, then it would make perfect sense to introduce a new character to shepherd this new age of Marvel: Richard Rider, aka The Human Rocket, aka Nova.

Richard Rider is a fan-favorite character that many have waited a long time to see appear on-screen. From the start, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has been fielding inquiries as to whether we would ever see the Human Rocket fight alongside Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket and the rest of the team. While he appeared hesitant at first, the director eventually warmed up to the idea, stating that Nova could join the MCU at some point in the future. Whether it actually happens in the third Guardians film or not, the director did reveal that the threequel would be a vehicle showcasing "the end of this iteration of the Guardians."

If we're to take Gunn at his word, it means that Vol. 3 could be the last space adventure for Chris Pratt's Peter Quill. Whether that entails the character's death will be up to the writer/director (and Pratt's contract, to be honest), but it does mean that he intends for the team to live on in some capacity -- if not featuring all of the founding members, then their idea, their name and their spirit. That means that the door would be left open for a new space-bound human to protect the galaxy, and who better to fit that bill than Richard Rider?

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Like Quill, Rider left his home planet behind to become a protector of all life in the universe. The power of Nova was given to him by the dying Xandarian Rhomann Day, who at the time was the last surviving member of the Nova Corps. The Corps and Xandar featured prominently in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film, as did Rhomann Day, who was played by John C. Reilly. With all of these elements firmly established in the MCU, it would be quite easy for Marvel's Phase 4 to introduce Richard Rider. In fact, it would almost seem like a natural progression of events, considering what might occur in Avengers: Infinity War.

In the next entry in the Avengers saga, we know Thanos will be out collecting the multi-colored Infinity Stones. While much of the film is surrounded by a wall of secrecy, the trailers allowed us to deduce that the first stone the Mad Titan comes in possession of is the Power Stone, which was last seen in the care of the Nova Corps, on Xandar. This likely means that the uber villain will have laid waste to the planet, and its entire army, in order to get to the purple gem. This, in turn, could lead to one of the survivors of the attack, perhaps a wounded Rhomann Day, to fly a ship to Earth and give the collective power of the Nova Corps to Richard Rider.

A new space hero would then be ready to take to the stars as we head into Phase 4. The character could easily come across the Guardians in Vol. 3, a film that was already confirmed to serve as a launching pad for future cosmic venues. As the team's adventures come to a close, we could witness the dawn of all-new adventures spearheaded by a solo hero out to restore order in a chaotic galaxy. This could even lead us to corners of the Marvel cosmos we have never seen yet, entire space quadrants that could open the door for new planets, new aliens and new threats. Then, all that would be left would be for Nova to meet new people along the way, new heroes to help serve in his cause -- new recruits for a different kind of team.

As much as we are witnessing the end of what we know of the MCU, the future is looking bright -- especially if a human rocket is lighting the way.

Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Infinity War stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Bettany, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Tom Hiddleston, Peter Dinklage and Josh Brolin. The film hits theaters April 27.