X-Men ’97 Creator Pitched a Nova Series Inspired by Starship Troopers (and It Sounds Perfect)

One of the more requested characters in regards to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Nova, and his MCU debut has been rumored for years. Late last year it was finally confirmed that Nova will make his long awaited MCU debut through an in development TV series, but there have been pitches for a Nova series in the past that never made it to the screen. Former X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo recently detailed his previous pitch for a character series that brought in elements of the cult hit Starship Troopers, and he was in talks to start development on it after season 3 of X-Men ’97 was completed.

On X DeMayo was asked about a recent report regarding a Starship Troopers-themed pitch, and he reveals the pitch was indeed his. “Hahaha I can’t speak to the larger plans but the Starship Troopers pitch of it was def me. Was in the midst of discussions about developing #Nova once #xmen97 Season 3 wrapped,” DeMayo wrote.

That’s when DeMayo revealed that his series would have themed things around Annihilation, which is one of Marvel’s biggest cosmic stories. “My idea was you treat Annihilation Wave like the bugs in Starship Troopers and then tell the story of the guy who joins the army to impress a girl, Namorita. Build a band of friends that we then slowly kill as Rick and his friends experience the horrors of intergalactic war,” DeMayo wrote.

“You juxtapose this with Rick realizing the Nova Corps use propaganda a la Starship Troopers to police and control the truth on outer space, and are trying to hidethe coming Annihilation Wave, eventually forcing Rick and his team to go rogue a la Mission Impossible,” DeMayo wrote. “I planned to borrow from Veerhoven and do his dark satirical style, with Nova Corp Bulletin break ins that paint a very diff pic then what Rick and his friends are facing, which explains how why other heroes aren’t showing up. Nova Corps keeping them out.”

[RELATED: Marvel’s Kevin Feige Confirms Nova Project Is a TV Show, Reveals Timeline for Release (Exclusive)]

DeMayo also figured out a way to make sure things stayed on track regarding the budget. “To avoid ballooning the budget, I planned to have Rick and his team get stranded on an outer planet around episode 3-4, a utopia world that’s now mysteriously a ghost town that they’ve been sent to figure out what happened,” DeMayo wrote. “While there, the vibe here is very Pitch Black for the rest of the season as they’re trying to survive on the planet by Annihilus monsters. slowly being killed one by one, as we’re seeing Nova bulletins about how everything is fine”

“Eventually, Rick and the survivors discover that these seemingly monstrous bugs are being controlled by a “king bug” (Annihlus) and that Nova Corps have known about him but redacted everything about him,” DeMayo wrote. “This sets Rick and his team up in season 2 to go rogue to hunt down Annihilus before the wave comes to the core planets of the MCU. So starship troopers meets mission impossible, either Rick not knowing who he can trust in the Nova Corps.”

That project will not be happening now obviously, but there is a Nova project in the works. During a previous interview with ComicBook, Head of Streaming, Television and Animation at Marvel Studios Brad Winderbaum revealed the current plans for Nova, teasing that it will hit the screen when they are fully happy with the show and overall vision.

“So Nova’s in development right now. We are. But I will say we’re developing more than we make. This is part of the new Marvel,” Winderbaum revealed. “But we should talk about this because at Marvel everything has a spotlight on it and everyone gets super excited and we love Nova. And we want to get it right. But it’s in development. We got a few things in development and we’re not going to go on a show until we are happy with a pilot. Happy with the bible. So it is in development right now.”

What do you think of the pitch for Nova, and what do you want from a Nova series? You can talk all things Marvel with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!