James Gunn Confirms Nathan Fillion’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Cameo

Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has set the record straight about a rumor that spread around the Internet like wildfire this weekend, despite the fact that it made very little sense, by telling fans Nathan Fillion may be appearing in Guardians, but not as Marvel’s cosmic hero Nova.

The rumor came from a Latino Review story, which suggested Fillion would cameo as the Marvel hero created by Marv Wolfman and John Buscema in 1976 in a post-credits sequence in this summer’s Marvel Studios release. Gunn took to Twitter to confirm part of the rumor, but deny the meat of it.

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The rumors of my pal @NathanFillion playing Nova in #guardiansofthegalaxy have been greatly (and entirely) exaggerated. Sorry, humans.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 21, 2014

“@burnettski92: @NathanFillion Just what you’d say if you wanted to keep his appearance a surprise.” I would never & have never lied to fans

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 21, 2014

“@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

The rumor was always slightly suspect. For one thing, the Nova Corps — the Green Lantern-esque space cop organization that the character belongs to — is at the center of Guardians, with both John C. Reilly‘s and Glenn Close‘s characters in the movie being officers of the Corps; the idea that a “Nova” would appear in the movie was less a rumor than a fact, viewed from that angle.

Additionally, of the two Novas that have headlined Marvel titles in the last nearly four decades, both have been teenagers. The 43-year-old Fillion, for all his strengths as an actor, could hardly pull off being a high-schooler.

A role that he may be able to pull off, however, would be the Nova Corps officer father of Sam Alexander, the current Nova in both Marvel comics and animated series continuity. That character was presumed dead, leading to his son having to replace him as Earth’s Nova — an origin story that, in the comic books, features appearances by the Guardians of the Galaxy. Is it possible that Fillion’s appearance may be something to set up a future Marvel movie further down the line? We’ll find out in about six weeks; Guardians of the Galaxy opens August 1.