Rejoice, Nova fans, as Marvel Studios' take on its Green Lantern replacement superhero is finally edging closer to reality. Up next for James Gunn's DCU is Lanterns, diving into the Green Lantern mythos in an eight-episode premium HBO crime drama. Despite being well over a decade older, Marvel Studios still hasn't introduced its own version of DC's Green Lantern: Nova, who is similarly a superpowered space cop working for an intergalactic peacekeeping force. Funnily enough, the MCU's Nova Corps was introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy by Gunn, who is now executive producing Lanterns.
According to an exclusive report from Deadline, Michael Waldron, writer of Disney+'s Loki Season 1 and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, is in "early development" on a Nova movie for Marvel Studios. The Phase 4 scribe is penning the script and reportedly has an "eye to directing" the movie after making his debut on Hulu's football comedy Chad Powers, starring Glen Powell.
The latest update on Marvel Studios' first Nova venture comes as DC Studios prepares to premiere Lanterns on HBO on Sunday, August 16, although the Emerald Knight's DCU crime drama has already faced massive backlash.
Now that Nova has been upgraded to a theatrical affair, it ought to reduce the expected comparisons that it will receive to Lanterns, which may still be airing by then if DC Studios' multi-season hopes for the will-powered hero become a reality.
This isn't Marvel Studios' first attempt at bringing its space cop to life, as Moon Knight writer Sabir Pirzada was hired to write Nova's Disney+ series in 2022. He would later exit the MCU series when Criminal Minds scribe Ed Bernero was brought on as showrunner in December 2024, although that wouldn't last long.
The Disney+ series had reportedly been scrapped by early 2025, while further reports stated that Nova could be reworked into a theatrical movie. Almost exactly one year later, fans are finally seeing those rumors come to fruition, with Waldron now on board the project for its new and improved big-screen iteration.
How Marvel Studios' Nova Can Beat the DCU's Lanterns
DC Studios has faced backlash ahead of Lanterns for neglecting the source material by relegating the Emerald Knights to an Earthbound crime drama, seemingly with limited use of superpowers. Beyond that, the DCU is skipping over Hal Jordan's peak superhero days by casting the 60-year-old Kyle Chandler, setting up Aaron Pierre's John Stewart as the DCU's main Green Lantern.
In developing Nova as a blockbuster movie, not a streaming series with major budget constraints, Marvel Studios has the potential to right Lanterns' wrongs. The MCU will likely lean into Nova's sci-fi policing on a scale closer to Guardians of the Galaxy, packing in different planets, crazy cosmic powers, and alien species.
Back when it was a Disney+ series, Nova was rumored to end with the experienced Richard Rider and the rookie Sam Alexander carrying the space cop mantle into the MCU's future. That premise sounds awfully similar to Lanterns, with a veteran space cop training a new recruit, but Marvel Studios would probably lean younger, placing Rider in his 30s-40s and Alexander in his teens.
Of course, Nova has just gone back to the drawing board in "early development" as a new movie, positioning its release some time away. Depending on how smoothly development moves along, fans could see Nova around 2029/30 as part of the MCU's Phase 7 slate, where it may be vital in setting up the saga to come.
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