Nicolas Cage Back As Ghost Rider?
Nicolas Cage could return as Ghost Rider. Here's how.
This article is more than 2 years old
Nicolas Cage is one of the biggest comic book fans in the movie-making industry. It was one of the reasons why he jumped at the opportunity to play Johnny Blaze in the 2007 Marvel film Ghost Rider. He would return to the role again in the 2011 sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, but nothing has happened with his iteration of the character since then. Well, a new report says that could be changing.
Insider Roger Wardell has said that he believes Marvel has approached Nicolas Cage with an offer to return as Ghost Rider in the official Marvel Cinematic Universe. Would Cage be the primary version of the character, or would he be part of a multitude of Ghost Riders? We have heard a number of reports about what Marvel wants to do with the spectral motorcyclist. Some say that Keanu Reeves is being courted for the role while others seem to speculate that Marvel would like to cast a woman as their official version of the character.
With everything we know about the upcoming decision to explore the Marvel multiverse, it sounds more likely that Nicolas Cage could be brought in in a torch-passing capacity for whoever would pick up the role moving forward. The Marvel Cinematic Universe already has one official Ghost Rider in the form of Robbie Reyes, and it is unclear if he has any plans to return to the franchise in an upcoming movie. Could Marvel be going the multiverse route with Ghost Rider in a similar way that they are approaching the character of Spider-Man?
It would not be the biggest shock in the world to see Nicolas Cage return in a supporting role for a Ghost Rider team-up movie. The character has had multiple iterations over the decades and a number of different people have been host to the Spirit of Vengeance. It would not take a whole lot of yarn-spinning to get audiences on board with the idea of multiple Ghost Riders, whether they can from alternate universes or the same universe. The concept of a demon possessing a human and giving them supernatural powers is vague enough that there could be multiple demons that inhabit multiple hosts.
What is more interesting to ponder is whether or not this would make the Nicolas Cage Ghost Rider films retroactively a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If so, would they be popping up on Disney+ like the X-Men and Fantastic Four movies have? Would they be branded as Marvel Legacy movies or would they have to be grandfathered into the official Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline?
It is always great to see Nicolas Cage get to let loose in a movie – if you haven’t watched the midnight movie masterpiece Mandy, go do that NOW – and it would be fun to see him back as Ghost Rider for one more ride. We will have to see if this rumor ends up being true or not. In the meantime, treat yourself to the best scene from the original Ghost Rider movie, in which Sam Elliott becomes a demon cowboy on a flaming hell-horse.
