Nova And Glenn Close Almost Appeared In 'Avengers: Infinity War' And 'Endgame'

Even Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, two movies with approximately 10,000 characters between them, had to put the cap at some number. And that number ended up depriving us of seeing Glenn Close in all her bouffant-wearing glory. The actress was introduced as Nova-Prime Irani Rael in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, but hasn't been seen since. However Infinity War and Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely considered bringing back the Oscar-nominated actress in a different role, alongside the yet-cast popular Marvel character Nova.

In an interview with Comicbook.com, screenwriter Christopher Markus revealed that the 10,000 characters in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame almost increased by two.

"We actually had, 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. Yeah, the Xandarian Worldmind, was that after... it was almost going... 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."

In the early drafts for both movies, Markus revealed that they had plans to bring Nova, a cosmic character who in the comics has frequently crossed paths with Thanos, into the film, along with a new character played by Glenn Close. It would be a different character than Nova-Prime Irani Rael, who Close played in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, Markus said, revealing their plans to have the actress voice the Xandarian Worldmind, a sentient computer that contained the collective knowledge and culture of the Xandarian people.

This was a smart choice, as the films, in addition to having 9,000 too many characters, already had enough storytelling and mythology-spinning on its plate. Adding the stories of the Nova Corps and the Xandarian people would have been too much. This is not the first time that Nova has ended up on the cutting room floor: the character was intended to be introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but ended up being scrapped. As Marvel's cosmic Phase 4 looks to the stars, perhaps Nova could finally get a chance at the big screen.