Back in April, Nathan Fillion hinted that he would have a cameo in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, resulting in excitement from his legion of fans. We haven’t heard much more about the possible cameo since then, but a few days ago news broke out that he would be playing Richard Rider, AKA Nova, in the film’s post-credits sequence.
The rumor spread like wildfire across social networks (much to the dismay of DC fans, who’ve been hoping to see Nathan Fillion play Green Lantern), but it was quickly debunked by Gunn himself via Twitter:
The rumors of my pal @NathanFillion playing Nova in #guardiansofthegalaxy have been greatly (and entirely) exaggerated. Sorry, humans.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 21, 2014
However, confirmation of a Fillion cameo came soon after, when a fan asked Gunn directly if Fillion would in fact be in the movie:
“@STARS_TyranT: Are the rumours true that he has some part in the film?” @nathanfillion has a very small fun cameo he did as a favor to me.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 21, 2014
So, he may not be playing Nova, but he will indeed show up in the film in some capacity. The fact that it’s a “very small fun cameo” makes us think that he’ll likely be in the background, perhaps as an inmate in the prison that the Guardians are taken to, or as some nameless member of the Nova Corps.
In any case, it will be fun to see Fillion on screen in a big budget superhero film like Guardians of the Galaxy. The actor has become something of a geek god over the years, thanks to his major roles in Joss Whedon’s sci-fi western series Firefly, that show’s cinematic follow-up Serenity, and the cult classic Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog. Fillion’s voicework as Green Lantern in several of the DC animated direct-to-video features and supporting role in Gunn’s own 2010 indie flick Super further cemented his reputation as an actor most beloved of movie geeks.
Now that we know that he’ll be showing up in the Marvel universe, make sure to keep an eye out for Nathan Fillion when Guardians of the Galaxy arrives in theaters on August 1st.
