Marvel is reportedly bringing back the one actor we thought would never return

Marvel Studios can move mountains. Okay, maybe not literally; but metaphorically, the studio can move all the mountains it wants. They are single-handedly responsible for producing the most successful box office franchise of all time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (grossing over $30 billion across its 34 films) and still going strong.

Its current Multiverse Saga continues to surprise people as the MCU is able to successfully use the concept to bring back classic actors to portray beloved roles (Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Patrick Stewart’s Professor X and Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men ) and make some dream fan casting a reality (John Krasinski as Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards), having them interact with some of the most popular and current characters within their own franchise.

It’s like seeing the past, present and future collide all at once, and it’s part of the Marvel magic that really proves the franchise can make the impossible happen. It reportedly tried to do it again a second time and couldn’t quite get it to work, but new reports suggest they’re trying to make it happen again. And it’s actually pretty crazy too.

According to the Marvel scoop MyTimeToShine HiMarvel Studios is actively talking to Nicolas Cage about a potential return as Ghost Rider in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The iconic movie star had previously played the role in non-MCU projects, and fans have wondered if he could be one of the many returnees from the Multiverse Saga. Sounds like it’s still a possibility.

Cage portrayed the Johnny Blaze version of the character in two projects, which debuted in 2007’s Ghost Rider and returns in 2011’s sequel Spirit of Vengeance. While the films weren’t very well received from a critical standpoint, they were successful at the box office (especially the first) and have since developed a cult following, especially for how they helped introduce the character to more mainstream audiences. As always, Nicolas Cage’s committed performance earned praise from fans.

Since then, there has been a yearning for Nicolas Cage to return to the role in some capacity. The reason it seemed unlikely to happen in the MCU is simply because it almost did (too much recently, actually), but the stars for Ghost Rider’s involvement in the franchise just didn’t align.

Ryan Reynolds recently revealed on Entertainment Weekly’s Awardist podcast that an early draft for this year Deadpool and Wolverine had both Cage’s Ghost Rider and Ben Affleck’s Daredevil appear in it. Neither came to fruition, but Reynolds discussed his eagerness to try to make the Ghost Rider appearance happen, revealing that he actually spoke to Cage about it, adding, “We tried to get hold of him, but he was a no-go… I would have loved him.”

The fact that Marvel might be trying to get him to appear in a follow-up project is pretty exciting, and once again shows the limitless possibilities of the Multiverse Saga. With rumors of a multiversal match in either Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Warsit is quite possible that he could appear in one of them.

What’s even more ironic about all of this is that Cage recently appeared in another multiversal film to “reprise” a role that developed him somewhat of a cult following. He appeared in the 2023s The Flash for DC via a CGI cameo portraying an alternate version of Superman – a return to the unmade Superman lives film from the 1990s in which he almost played the role.

Is he set to do the same again in the MCU with Ghost Rider? We can certainly hope!