Ghost Rider Back on Television

The news broke yesterday that Marvel is producing two new live-action television shows through the Hulu streaming service.  Those two shows, "Ghost Rider" and "Helstrom", will be the start of the "Spirits of Vengeance" branding that I can only assume will branch out into other horror characters in Marvel's catalog.  Here's some of the info regarding the 2020 Ghost Rider show that I pulled from Deadline.

Gabriel Luna is once again suiting up as Marvel’s Ghost Rider, but this time for Hulu.

Variety has learned exclusively that Luna will star in the recently announced Hulu live-action series based on the comic book character. This will mark the second time that Luna has played Ghost Rider, previously appearing as the character in the ABC-Marvel series “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” However, sources stress that this will be a completely new iteration of the character in no way connected to the “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” storyline.

 To follow up on that information, here's some more pulled from Marvel's website announcement:

"Marvel’s Ghost Rider" centers on Robbie Reyes, played by Gabriel Luna ("Terminator: Dark Fate," "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."), the quintessential antihero, who lives on the Texas/Mexico border, consumed by hellfire and supernaturally bound to a demon. When he unleashes the Rider, Robbie brings vengeance for the innocents he encounters, but struggles controlling the power he wields. "Marvel’s Ghost Rider" is executive produced by Ingrid Escajeda, who will serve as showrunner, Paul Zbyszewski and Marvel Television’s Jeph Loeb.

“I couldn’t be more excited and honored to be handed the reins to a Marvel character as beloved as GHOST RIDER. This story hits every note for me—my love for grounded yet conflicted characters and my desire to scare the $&!# out of people! It’s important to me to find a take that thrills existing fans as well as wider audiences and I believe we’ve done just that,” said Executive Producer and Showrunner, Ingrid Escajeda.

Daimon and Ana Helstrom are the son and daughter of a mysterious and powerful serial killer in "Marvel’s Helstrom." The siblings have a complicated dynamic as they track down the worst of humanity—each with their attitude and skills. "Marvel’s Helstrom" is executive produced by Paul Zbyszewski, who will serve as showrunner and Marvel Television’s Jeph Loeb.

“As a lifelong Marvel fan, I feel incredibly fortunate to help bring this darker, thrilling corner of the comic book universe to life, and I’m just grateful to everyone at Marvel Television and Hulu for the opportunity,” said Paul Zbyszewski, Executive Producer and Showrunner. “Marvel’s known for all the heart, humor, and action they put into every series, but this time around we’re adding some scares to that mix. I think we’ve found a compelling way to dissect some of our deepest fears through the experiences of our two lead characters.”

"We're thrilled Hulu will be moving into a new—admittedly chilling—corner of the Marvel Universe with GHOST RIDER and HELSTROM. Paul and Ingrid are crafting gripping adventures into fear that live in our SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE cornerstone."

Now, as a Ghost Rider fan I find this to be extremely exciting news.  There's already been some of the naysayers out there going "Not My Ghost Rider" because it's focusing on Robbie Reyes, an attitude that still kinda stuns me every time I see it.  We all have our favorite Riders and there are definitely periods of the characters' histories that I point to as the ones that spoke to me the most as a reader.  I grew up with Howard Mackie's Danny Ketch as my Spirit of Vengeance, I had a deep respect for the latter day Johnny Blaze of the Roger Stern, Marc DeMatteis, and Bob Budiansky era, and I found myself loving Blaze as the Rider again during Jason Aaron's tenure.  Similarly, I've found myself a huge fan of Robbie Reyes, a character who deserves the chance to grow as the newest incarnation of the Ghost Rider just like Danny Ketch did nearly 30 years ago and Johnny Blaze did almost 50 years ago (Carter Slade fans represent!).

I seriously implore any fan that doesn't like Reyes to go on Netflix and queue up season 4 of Agents of SHIELD.  Not only does Gabriel Luna give an absolutely captivating performance as Robbie, but a lot of the things some fans dislike about Robbie in the comics are swerved around in the show.  He's an adult, he's much darker and less humorous, and he has the traditional "deal with the devil" backstory.  It was a great representation of the Ghost Rider, probably the best he's been in film so far.  Even if the connection to those Agents of SHIELD episodes aren't there I'm still so damn ready to watch this new show, mainly due to Gabriel Luna reprising the role. 

Just give the show a chance, don't be the typical internet fandom that immediately kneejerks into backlash because it's not exactly what you want out of the property.  I'm not saying we should settle for scraps, if the show is terrible then it's terrible, but condemning it outright because it's not Johnny Blaze isn't playing fair.  If we get a season or two of gripping television involving our favorite character (and c'mon, Johnny Blaze will have a presence in this show in some capacity, it would surprise the hell out of me if he didn't ) then what's to complain about?  Ghost Rider fans are fucking passionate, that's what makes us so awesome as a fandom, but don't let that passion turn you into a hater of something sight unseen. 

And if you're one of those fans who still whines about Ghost Rider having a car now instead of a motorcycle, then I'm sorry son, there's nothing else I can do for you.