Gabriel Luna became the second actor to play Ghost Rider in live-action when he debuted as Robbie Reyes in the fourth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the reception to his performance as the Spirit of Vengeance was generally well-received.
The actor was even being lined up to star in a solo series for Hulu, which wound up being canceled to seemingly end his stint as the iconic antihero, with Kevin Feige folding Marvel’s television arm and absorbing it into the larger studio operation.
We’ve been hearing repeated rumors for years that Ghost Rider is on his way back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in some fashion, with Luna’s name being mentioned once or twice. However, in an interview with ComicBook, the Terminator: Dark Fate star admitted he hasn’t really spoken about the role all that much, but he’d definitely be open to coming back.
“I try to stay in the moment. This is interesting, in talking to you, it’s the first time I’ve done some recollection of the experience. You never say no. You always say that it comes down to the story. If it’s a great story and it makes sense and if I still feel the way I felt when I was reading for Jed and Moe that first day with Sarah Finn, it was a few years back, if I still feel it’s just like breathing, that’s what I felt with the character previously, then absolutely.”
There’s no reason why Luna couldn’t make a comeback as Ghost Rider now that the MCU’s multiverse is in play, but Feige might prefer starting with a clean slate if he even has plans for the character at all. We’ll just have to wait and see on that front, but given the unstoppable expansion of the franchise, it’d be a waste of a perfectly good superhero to leave him sitting on the sidelines.