Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: First Look At Ghost Rider
Marvel Television and ABC have revealed the first official photo of Gabriel Luna as Robbie Reyes, aka Ghost Rider, in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The photo shows Luna as Robbie wearing his signature Ghost Rider jacket. See it below.
"As always, we are going to put our own spin on the character," executive producer Jed Whedon tells EW. "We are staying true to the comics in the places where we feel like it's really important — we love the character's family dynamic and the East L.A. kid in him."
Ghost Rider is the most overtly supernatural character to appear in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. so far. Whedon says the timing of Ghost Rider's debut in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4, not long before Doctor Strange opens in theaters, is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's natural growth.
"It started out with a guy building a suit using science, and then we met aliens that are the origin of the myths behind some of our gods, and this year Doctor Strange comes out," Whedon says. "We're opening it up even further to the world of things we don't totally understand, or as Thor says, 'Magic is science that we don't understand.' Well, we're getting into some very, very fancy science."
In the Marvel Comics Universe, Robbie Reyes is the latest in a line of characters to become the Ghost Rider, Marvel's "Spirit of Vengeance." The original was Johnny Blaze, who was played by Nicholas Cage in two movies outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ghost Rider and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.
As the Ghost Rider covers included in the gallery below show, Luna looks strikingly true to the Marvel Comics source material. The costume design here is impressive, so let's hope that the CGI effects for Ghost Rider's flaming skull look just as solid.
On the other side of things, trying to explain Ghost Rider using science seems like a tricky feat to pull off, especially if Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't want to alienate the fans most excited about Ghost Rider appearing in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4. Hopefully, they'll excel at walking that fine line.
As we learned earlier today, the episode title of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4 premiere seems to hint that Ghost Rider may be appearing immediately.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.EL.D. Season 4 premieres Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.