Some MCU Fans Want Ryan Gosling to Play a Character Who Dies After 1 Movie
When we think of the Marvel Cinematic Universe actors, we tend to think of the ones who were there for multiple movies – your Robert Downey Jr.’s, your Chris Hemsworths, and your Scarlett Johanssons, among others.
However, quite a few A-List actors have made memorable one and done appearances like Robert Redford, Michael B. Jordan and James Spader.
Granted, these performers all played villains, and unless your name is Thanos or Loki, villains tend not to last long in the MCU. Now fans are kicking around ideas for an actor to play a short-lived hero named Nova. One of these ideas is Ryan Gosling.
Who is Nova?
Nova was the rare Marvel character from the 1960s not created by Stan Lee. He was created by Marv Wolfman in the magazine Super Adventures. The character was originally an alien doctor named Denteen who found a spaceship containing pills that gave him a different superpower every five minutes.
Wolfman and acclaimed Marvel artist John Romita reworked the character in 1976. He became a member of an intergalactic police force, with his powers including enhanced strength, flight, and resistance to injury.
In addition to working on his own, he also joined teams like the Secret Avengers, which gives Marvel fans the idea that the character could have some kind of place in the MCU going forward. The trick is, to hear fans tell it, he wouldn’t last beyond one movie.
Ryan Gosling isn’t the only suggestion for Nova
On the discussion forums of Reddit, MCU fans batted around many ideas for someone who could play Nova, with a topic starter writing, “I always had the idea of Marvel going an older route for Richard Rider’s Nova. He can be a character with experience and I always liked the idea of Jason Bateman as the character. Jason Bateman can drop some weight and build some muscle to be the character. Chris Pratt as Star-Lord is a perfect example of the oddest of things working out. Or Nathan Fillion is my second choice for Nova.”
That fan made three suggestions for Nova’s casting, and none of them were Ryan Gosling. That came from another fan, who said, “Brad Pitt or Ryan Gosling as an older, mentor Nova, paving the way for a different younger Nova going forward in the MCU, would be the dream Older Nova dying at the end of the film in what is the Thanos destruction of Xandar, (which) would be a freaking outstanding origin story for the younger Nova to assume the position.”
If the MCU uses Nova at all, fans think he would ideally fit somewhere in Phase 5, which would happen sometime after 2022. If Nova could not get his own movie or TV show, he could conceivably prove to be one of the building blocks for the next version of the Avengers, which might be the specific group of heroes called the Young Avengers.
Would Ryan Gosling even consider Marvel?
Ryan Gosling’s IMDb roster doesn’t exactly suggest “franchise guy.” Among the few movies he’s done that could be considered franchise pictures are The Notebook, one of many Nicholas Sparks’ sudsers, and Blade Runner 2049. Like the original film, that sequel didn’t do all that well commercially and seems destined to become a cult hit at best.
Gosling tends to keep his ambitions lofty, with his Oscar nominations including Half Nelson and La La Land. Other acclaimed roles include Lars and the Real Girl, Drive, Blue Valentine and The Believer. His resume does not exactly scream “Marvel hero.” And yet Vanity Fair reported that he was one of the actors being considered for Suicide Squad, so maybe Gosling screams more DC villain than Marvel hero.
Then again, nobody saw Robert Redford appearing in a Marvel movie either, so anything is possible.
