Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been teasing something big for San Diego Comic-Con, and when fans spotted a light rail in San Diego with an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. advertisement with a long fiery chain on its side, the immediate speculation was that Ghost Rider, a character famous for using that exact weapon, would be coming to the show. It was quickly dismissed, as Ghost Rider's effects would be too expensive for a TV budget and his darker stories would have to be toned down, but now a new theory has arisen that it is indeed Ghost Rider who will appear on the show, but not the one people are most familiar with.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is casting two new characters for Season 4, and ABC is looking for actors to play two Latino brothers, one who is "always the most dangerous person in the room," and one who is in a wheelchair. This dynamic sounded familiar to ComicBook.com, where it was theorized that this casting call is for Robbie Reyes and his brother Gabe, the brothers at the center of the Ghost Rider comic series from the Marvel Now! rebranding. Robbie is notable for being the latest character to take up the mantle of Ghost Rider, and if this theory is true, that would make Ghost Rider the biggest superhero character to appear on the show.
People may be more familiar with the original Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, played in two movies by Nicolas Cage, but the Robbie Reyes version is a bit different. Robbie was a mechanic who was trying to race enough money to move him and his disabled brother Gabe out of their dangerous neighborhood. However, a street race goes bad and Robbie was gunned down inside his 1969 Dodge Charger by hitmen working for Mr. Hyde (Daisy's father, who is a bit different on the show but it still strengthens the theory). Robbie was bonded with a vengeful spirit and resurrected as the new Ghost Rider, and he then worked to clean up his neighborhood while trying to appease the murderous spirit sharing his body. Yeah, that sounds like the most dangerous guy in the room.
This theory has a lot going for it. The casting announcement is almost too specific to not be the Reyes brothers, and while some also fell back on the assumption that the fiery chain belonged to Hellfire, that character already debuted on S.H.I.E.L.D. and that wouldn't be a very good Comic-Con announcement. Robbie is still a relatively new character, not beholden to years worth of continuity, and he's free from association with the subpar Cage movies. He's the best version of Ghost Rider to be on TV. Plus, he's got a sick look and he drives around in his "hell-ified" Dodge Charger - think the Ghost Rider motorcycle, but as a car - that would be awesome to see on screen. All of that might sound expensive, but The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow prove that superhero level effects are possible on a network TV show.
We'll probably get an answer to the Ghost Rider once Comic-Con rolls around. Until then keep checking back in with CinemaBlend for more Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. updates. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will return on Tuesday, September 20, at 10 p.m. on ABC. To learn more about what else you can find in primetime later this year, head on over to our Fall TV Premiere List.
