Marvel character Ghost Rider starts out as motorcycle stuntman Johnny Blaze, who sells his soul to Mephisto in return for curing his stepfather’s cancer. Mephisto bonds him with the demon Zarathos, which transforms Blaze into Ghost Rider when evil is near so he can return it to hell. Leather-clad with a flaming skull for a head, Ghost Rider’s many powers include superhuman strength, regeneration, invulnerability to fire, and of course his Penance Stare, during which he locks eyes with his victim and ravages their soul by making them experience all the pain and suffering they’ve caused.
Johnny Blaze was previously portrayed by Nicolas Cage in Ghost Rider (2007) and its sequel, Spirit of Vengeance (2011). He was played by Tom McComas on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Ryan Gosling’s name has been favored in talks of recasting Ghost Rider for future MCU projects. While he’d likely be an excellent choice, there are lots of other ways it could go. These actors could all play Ghost Rider and do a bang-up job of it.
Norman Reedus
Best known for playing Daryl Dixon on The Walking Dead, Norman Reedus already has eleven seasons’ experience with a comic book adaptation, though his character was specifically developed for the show. Daryl Dixon is physically and mentally strong, traits that would translate well to Ghost Rider. And after fending off zombies and predatory survivors for 175 episodes, fans of The Walking Dead can certainly attest to Reedus’ believable combat skills.
Before his first acting gig, Reedus worked in a Harley Davidson motorcycle shop. Since gaining notoriety, he’s translated his enthusiasm for bikes into the AMC show Ride with Norman Reedus where he and a guest ride to different destinations while exploring biker culture. He’ll look at home on Blaze’s motorcycle.
Charlie Hunnam
Charlie Hunnam’s television experience is even more applicable than Reedus’. He played biker outlaw Jax Teller for 92 episodes on FX series Sons of Anarchy. Jax was the motorcycle club’s president and spent most of the series riding a 2003 Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide Sport with a black powder coated engine and high-risers for handlebars. Jax also had the highest kill count of the series, so presumably Hunnam will wield Ghost Rider’s Hellfire Shotgun with authority.
Hunnam took up boxing and Brazilian Jiujitsu to prepare for his role in King Arthur, so he’s physically capable of bringing the heat. And he was considered early on to play Thor before Chris Hemsworth blew everyone away, which may mean that the MCU is his destiny.
Common
Common is a rapper and actor with an impressive range of roles under his belt, including action films like Wanted, Terminator Salvation, and John Wick: Chapter 2. He’s also got some comic book bona fides, having briefly appeared in the DCEU in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad as Monster T, a crime boss in Gotham City who openly ogles Harley Quinn at a strip club and promptly gets shot in the head by Joker.
Common wouldn’t be the first or the last to crossover between Marvel and DC films. In fact, Nicolas Cage himself has straddled both, voicing Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and Superman in Teen Titans GO! To The Movies.
Keanu Reeves
Aside from 2005’s Constantine and voicing Batman in DC League of Super-Pets, Keanu Reeves’ name has been regularly suggested for all kinds of superhero roles, but the actor has yet to join the MCU. The man is an avid comic book fan though and has even recently created and written one with Matt Kindt and drawn by Ron Garney. BRZRKR follows an immortal warrior as he fights his way through the ages; Netflix is already developing a live-action film starring Reeves as well as a follow-up anime series.
A vision and leather and a known motorcycle enthusiast, Reeves once brought a Harley-Davidson to bike builder Gard Hollinger for customization that eventually retained only the Harley engine. They liked the result so much they formed the Arch Motorcycle Company together. Reeves clearly likes bikes, but does he like Marvel? When Jimmy Kimmel recently asked him what character his 10-year-old self would have wanted to play, he answered “Ghost Rider.”
Joshua Jackson
Known since childhood for roles in The Mighty Ducks and Dawson’s Creek, Joshua Jackson’s most relevant film credit may be a little-known indie called One Week, in which he plays a man diagnosed with stage IV cancer who buys a used motorcycle and drives across Canada instead of having treatment.
Other television roles seem to have prepared him to play Ghost Rider: in Doctor Death, he routinely takes lives, in Fringe he encountered the supernatural, and in Little Fires Everywhere, flames shoot out of his skull. That last one may not be true, but there’s already more than enough evidence to prove Jackson is a viable fit for the role.
Steven Yeun
On Amazon Prime’s Invincible, Steven Yeun voices Mark Grayson, the teenage son of the world’s most powerful superhero, Omni-Man (voiced by the MCU’s J.K. Simmons). Invincible is based on the comic book written by The Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman. Yeun’s work on the show is so lauded by fans, they’ve clamored for him to take a live-action superhero role in the future.
Ghost Rider seems like a good fit for Yeun, particularly when you factor in the probability of Ghost Rider being introduced to the MCU via the upcoming film Blade, starring Mahershala Ali, who, coincidentally, voices Titan on Invincible. Since Blade also has ties to the supernatural, it seems inevitable that he and Ghost Rider will cross paths.
Andrew Scott
Andrew Scott is one of the most versatile working actors today, with memorable roles including Moriarty in Sherlock, Bond’s careless boss in Spectre, and an aficionado of the supernatural in His Dark Materials, not to mention voicing several characters for the Big Hero 6 series.
Perhaps most importantly, it feels right that Fleabag’s Hot Priest should be doing the devil’s work. Ghost Rider can rain down hellfire, purge souls, eat sins, invoke damnation, and perform exorcisms. This role will require someone familiar with both sides of the occult.
Lenny Kravitz
Rock star and actor, Lenny Kravitz would at the very least nail Johnny Blaze’s coolness. His best-known acting credit is as Cinna in The Hunger Games and its follow-up, Catching Fire, but fans needn’t dig too deep to ascertain his primary qualification: looking killer in leather.
And since his daughter, Zoë Kravitz, has appeared as Selina Kyle in The Batman, and his Eskimo brother Jason Momoa as Aquaman, it seems only fair that Lenny should get his shot too.
Justin Theroux
Full disclosure: Justin Theroux appeared briefly in Joker in the uncredited role of actor Ethan Chase, also the name of Zach Galifianakis’ character in Due Date, another film by director Todd Phillips which co-stars Iron Man, Robert Downey, Jr. Blink and you’ll miss him; Theroux’s only seen on a television screen as a guest on the Murray Franklin show. Currently, he does not appear to be revisiting the role for the film’s sequel, leaving him open for a possible spot in the MCU.
While Theroux has never appeared in the MCU, he did write the screenplay for Iron Man 2 (he was personally recommended by Downey since Theroux also co-wrote Tropic Thunder). Combine those chops with his effortless biker style and a stable of four motorcycles he rides regularly, and you’ve got the makings of a terrific Ghost Rider.
Stephanie Beatriz
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Johnny Blaze is supposed to be blue-eyed and strawberry blond while Ghost Rider is bald with flames coming out of his empty eye sockets. He’s also, technically, supposed to be a man, but who says Jenny Blaze can’t be the stunt woman behind the flaming skeleton?
Stephanie Beatriz is so perfect for the role, she already has one she could easily cut-and-paste: Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Rosa is tough, no-nonsense, used to hauling in perps, and prone to leather. Beatriz could do this with one skeletal hand tied behind her back.
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