Marvel has superheroes who can punch via buildings, struggle alien armies, and save the world earlier than lunch. What it doesn’t actually have is a hero who could make audiences genuinely uncomfortable simply by exhibiting up. That’s the place Ghost Rider is available in. A flaming cranium driving a motorbike is already a reasonably nice place to begin, however Johnny Blaze has at all times been a stranger and significantly nastier character than your common Marvel hero. He’s cursed, he’s linked to demonic forces, and his concept of justice entails making actually dangerous folks endure. Actually, I’m undecided why Marvel would take a look at all that and suppose it wants one other comedy routine.
That’s the chance right here. Ghost Rider shouldn’t really feel like one other superhero becoming a member of the Avengers for a couple of quips and an enormous CGI battle. His tales belong someplace nearer to supernatural horror, with demonic mythology, terrifying transformations, and villains that really give audiences nightmares. Nicolas Cage already introduced the character to theaters twice, so Marvel can’t merely give us one other model of the identical factor. It wants to grasp what makes the Spirit of Vengeance completely different within the first place. And if the studio will get this proper, it might lastly give the MCU a nook of the universe that feels genuinely harmful.
Why Ghost Rider Wants a Supernatural Horror Film As a substitute of One other MCU Journey
There’s a cause Ghost Rider has at all times stood out amongst Marvel’s superheroes. Johnny Blaze isn’t a billionaire in an armored swimsuit or a scientist who obtained caught in a radiation accident. He’s a person who made a take care of the Satan and ended up paying a somewhat horrible value. The Spirit of Vengeance turns him into one thing terrifying, with a burning cranium, supernatural power, and a series that makes most superhero weapons look fairly strange. His Penance Stare is even nastier. It forces the responsible to expertise the ache they’ve inflicted on others. That’s a reasonably grim capacity for a franchise that often prefers its heroes to resolve issues with a intelligent one-liner.
Though I feel Ryan being forged as Ghost Rider, presumably Johnny Blaze, is a superb concept, I hope he doesn’t find yourself showing in too many motion pictures. His position as Kade in Disney’s upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter, for instance, could be a bit a lot. For many who don’t know, Ryan could have landed the position of Marvel’s new flaming-skull superhero due to a little-known efficiency on this film:
Marvel has loads of expertise with supernatural characters, however Ghost Rider gives one thing completely different. Physician Unusual can take audiences into unusual dimensions, and Werewolf by Night time already confirmed that the MCU might experiment with horror-inspired storytelling. Ghost Rider might push that significantly additional. Think about a film that treats his transformations as genuinely horrifying somewhat than one other alternative for a flashy particular impact. The bike roaring via a abandoned freeway at evening, the flames spreading throughout Johnny’s physique, and a few unlucky demon realizing it has made a really critical mistake. There’s a terrific horror film hiding inside this character. Marvel simply must let it out.
How Marvel Can Make Its New Ghost Rider Completely different From Nicolas Cage’s Motion pictures
Nicolas Cage has already performed Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. I’ll admit that these motion pictures have their followers, and Cage actually understood that there was one thing splendidly ridiculous about taking part in a person with a flaming cranium. The primary movie had some entertaining moments, whereas the sequel went significantly additional into the character’s darker mythology. However neither film fairly delivered the definitive Ghost Rider journey that followers have been ready for. The character has a lot potential, and there’s extra to discover than watching him chase criminals whereas setting all the pieces on hearth. His connection to the supernatural world deserves significantly extra consideration.
That’s the place Marvel has an fascinating alternative. Quite than introducing Ghost Rider as one other Avenger or giving him a fast look in anyone else’s film, the studio might construct a completely new supernatural nook of the MCU round him. There are many terrifying characters in Marvel’s supernatural mythology, and Ghost Rider has a pure place amongst them. Mephisto can be an apparent place to begin, particularly after all of the teasing surrounding the character in current MCU tasks. However there are different demons and supernatural threats value exploring, too. I’d a lot somewhat see Johnny Blaze preventing one thing that genuinely scares him than watching him commerce jokes with Spider-Man. Marvel has spent years constructing a universe round superheroes who save the world. Possibly it’s time to introduce one who makes the monsters want they’d stayed in Hell.