Admire yourself for the MCU – that was quite a wild time! You saw Ben Affleck leaping across the rooftops in a red devil suit in “Daredevil” and Wesley Snipes was enacted by Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro as a sword-wielding Daywalker Blade battling bloodthirsty vampires.
Meme god Nicolas Cage was also part of this pre-MCU comics universe. Cage plays in “Ghost RiderJohnny Blaze, a stunt driver with a dark secretbecause he sold his soul to the devil to save his father from dying of cancer. To pay off his debts, he now races through the night as a Ghost Rider with a flaming skull on a motorcycle to punish sinners for their misdeeds.
If you haven’t seen “Ghost Rider” yet and are in the mood for a juicy dose of Nicolas Cage overacting, you can watch “Ghost Rider” on Disney+ since February 3, 2023:
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And that’s what “Ghost Rider” is about
To save his father from a terminal illness, Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) makes a diabolical pact with Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda): his soul in exchange for a cure for cancer. What Johnny doesn’t know is that he can’t win this deal because shortly after making this diabolical deal, his father, now cured of cancer, dies at a motorcycle show.
Years later, Johnny has also become a real devilish stunt driver, famous for being able to pull off even the most daring stunts without a single scratch. Actually, Johnny is doing well in his life, but just as he is thinking about turning his life upside down and shifting gears, Mephistopheles contacts him and forces him to pay his debts.
From now on, Johnny will act as Ghost Rider as his outstretched arm and will not be released from his new duties until he collects 1,000 souls. In addition, he should also help his evil client in the fight against his son Blackheart (Wes Bentley), who is currently shaking the balance of power on earth…
A heart project for Nicolas Cage
“Ghost Rider” is a real heart project for Nicolas Cage. The overacting actor is a self-professed comics fan who took his stage name inspired by Marvel superhero Luke Cage and even named his son Kal-El, which is known as Superman’s Kryptonian birth name.
However, the actor has a special bond with the fiery demon Ghost Rider. Cage has repeatedly emphasized that this is his favorite Marvel character and he even has a Ghost Rider tattoo on his skin. Opposite he explains his love for the peculiar anti-hero as follows:
“Ever since I was a kid I was drawn to the monsters, whether it be The Hulk or Ghost Rider. I couldn’t understand the complexity of something that looks so scary but is also quite ‘good’. That gave him a depth that seemed to be lacking in some of the other characters.”