‘Agents Of SHIELD’ Teases First Look At Ghost Rider

The news that Ghost Rider was going to make a debut in the upcoming season of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD came with much speculation, but the determination that it would be with the Robbie Reyes version of the character and not the Johnny Blaze rendition settled much of that fan debate. Now, more speculation has been eliminated with ABC’s release of the first image of Gabriel Luna in the role of Ghost Rider.

As the production company and Agents of SHIELD producers tease Ghost Rider with this first look, Luna opens up about what it has been like to bring Robbie Reyes and Ghost Rider to life.

Agents Of SHIELD Gives Fans Their First Peek At Ghost Rider

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD will be debuting their own spirit of vengeance when Ghost Rider rolls into Season 4, and as Entertainment Weekly shares, the production company is already giving fans a glimpse of what to expect. The series has cast Gabriel Luna in the live action Ghost Rider role, and the actor is seen in full costume in a new image shared by Agents of SHIELD showrunners.

“As always, we are going to put our own spin on the character,” executive producer Jed Whedon said of the new Ghost Rider adaptation. “We are staying true to the comics in the places where we feel like it’s really important — we love the character’s family dynamic and the East L.A. kid in him.”

Otherwise, Ghost Rider will be adapted to the show’s story arcs, and as the most recent season revealed, Agents of SHIELD has been taken in new and strange directions. Agents of SHIELD has most recently begun an exploration of stories containing a more paranormal arc, including the introduction of extraterrestrials and the exploration of the myths of religious gods. The Doctor Strange film will also influence more paranormal types of stories, as the show also introduces magic.

“We’re opening it up even further to the world of things we don’t totally understand, or as Thor says, ‘Magic is science that we don’t understand.’ Well, we’re getting into some very, very fancy science,” revealed the Agents of SHIELD’s executive producer.

Gabriel Luna Dishes On His Portrayal Of Ghost Rider

Luna (Freeheld, Wicked City) told the Hollywood Reporter that he’s especially excited to be playing the Robbie Reyes version of Ghost Rider, because there’s still little comic book lore on the character, leaving Agents of SHIELD and Gabriel himself to build up the character in their own ways. Luna isn’t coming to Agents of SHIELD completely ignorant of the Ghost Rider history in Marvel’s comic books. In fact, Gabriel says he was always a fan of the Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch stories, but, he adds, he wasn’t aware that Ghost Rider had been passed on to Robbie Reyes.

“When [Marvel TV head] Jeph [Loeb] and [Agents of SHIELD executive producers] Jed [Whedon] and Mo [Tancharoen] finally cracked the lid on what I’d be playing, I was shocked because when they called me, they were very secretive as to what it was,” said Luna. “When I finally found out what it was, I did my research, and I looked into it, and that’s when I discovered that there was this new incarnation of Ghost Rider.”

Researching the Robbie Reyes comics, Gabriel found that the character has a deep respect for family and heritage, but he says that hasn’t yet been touched upon in the Agents of SHIELD stories so far as they have filmed the scenes. He adds that the Agents of SHIELD scenes do tell the story of Robbie as he has envisioned the character, so Luna is very satisfied with the way the series is handling his character.

As for his alter ego, Gabriel adds that the Agents of SHIELD showrunners are taking equal care in telling his story, as well.

“The Ghost Rider is a completely separate thing from Robbie. It’s something that always inhabits his body and something that he always has to fight. It’s an evil thing. That’s what they have maintained in the writing. It’s going to be a really solid interpretation of Ghost Rider. But as for his family, we’re going to have to wait and see if they show up.”

Luna is also excited about the flaming skull and says he can’t wait for fans to get a good look at it on Agents of SHIELD. The actor says the flaming skull is created through a melding of CGI technology and his own facial expressions.

Season 4 of Agents of SHIELD is set to premiere on Tuesday, September 20 on ABC.

[Image by ABC]