Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider Almost Returned In Deadpool & Wolverine Reveals Ryan Reynolds

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine.

Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider was almost in Deadpool & Wolverine. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is looking to add another $1 billion hit to the shared universe’s list of successful movies. A large part of that is due to Deadpool & Wolverine‘s cameos, which Marvel mostly managed to keep a secret until the movie was released. While many exciting live-action Marvel characters returned in the film, a highly-requested anti-hero did not appear, but it turns out Ghost Rider was really considered for the film.

Speaking to Collider, Ryan Reynolds revealed that there were conversations for Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider to appear in Deadpool & Wolverine. There were rumors that the actor could be making an appearance in the movie, and with Cage still in the live-action superhero business — he will lead Prime Video’s Spider-Man Noir series — it seemed like Ghost Rider might finally make his MCU debut. Ultimately, Reynolds did not reveal why that did not work out. However, Deadpool & Wolverine‘s ending sets up a way for more live-action Marvel returns in the MCU. Check out the full quote below:

“Yes. Came to a conversation for sure. Yeah, but no.”

Why Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider Would’ve Been Perfect For Deadpool & Wolverine

The Actor Would Fit In With The Theme Of The Cameos

The only real issue with Cage’s Ghost Rider appearing in Deadpool & Wolverine would have been the number of returning characters with fire powers. The movie had a scene focused on Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm and Aaron Stanford’s Pyro, showing their proficiency with fire, which might have been a little too crowded with Ghost Rider added to the mix. However, perhaps things could have been different, and Cage’s Ghost Rider would have taken Pyro’s place in a version of the movie.

Whatever way Ryan Reynolds and the team at Marvel managed to fit in Cage’s Ghost Rider would have been great for fans, as the actor had been one of the most requested names for the movie in the months leading up to the movie’s release. Cage’s Ghost Rider would also have fit the theme of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s cameos. The returning characters were chosen because of Marvel’s live-action legacy before the MCU and the role those characters had in prior movies.

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Cage’s Ghost Rider comes from an early era of Marvel movies that paved the way for the MCU to debut and thrive. Having the actor play a major character who still has to show up in an MCU film would have been a huge deal. Cage’s Ghost Rider movies never ended up being as successful as expected, but the actor’s version of the character still managed to capture fans’ hearts, and Deadpool & Wolverine could have given the actor the chance to have a powerful finale as the anti-hero that turned even more fans to his side.

Deadpool & Wolverine

4.0

A follow-up to the highly successful Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The third film will be the first in the franchise to be developed under the Marvel Studios banner following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox.

Director

Shawn Levy

Release Date

July 26, 2024

Cast

Ryan Reynolds , Hugh Jackman , Emma Corrin , Morena Baccarin , Rob Delaney , Leslie Uggams , Karan Soni , Matthew Macfadyen , Brianna Hildebrand , Shioli Kutsuna , Stefan Kapicic , Lewis Tan , Randal Reeder , Jennifer Garner , Aaron Stanford , Billy Clements , Ollie Palmer , Chris Hemsworth , Rob McElhenney

Runtime

127 Minutes

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Source: Collider