Gabriel Luna Calls Ghost Rider the 'Wild Card' of Agents of SHIELD S4

CBR

By Tim Adams

Published Sep 20, 2016

Ghost Rider actor Gabriel Luna descirbes how his character breaks the ice in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fourth season, which premieres Tuesday, September 20 at 10pm ET on ABC.

When season four of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." premieres tonight on ABC, fans will get their first look at new cast member, Robbie Reyes, a.k.a. the Spirit of Vengeance, Ghost Rider. With his muscle car and flaming skull, Ghost Rider introduces a new dynamic for Daisy, Coulson, and the other agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

In an interview with Collider, Ghost Rider actor Gabriel Luna calls his character a "huge wild card to throw into the mix." Luna tells the site, "We’re starting to tow the line and inch towards some ground that hasn’t been covered, but that is a huge part of the books themselves and the entire Marvel universe and the canon of Marvel’s assortment of characters."

The series' executive producers previously discussed how Ghost Rider brings the same mystical elements to "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." that "Doctor Strange" delivers to the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- and now, Luna has elaborated on that theme: "What we haven’t touched on are things that can’t be explained perfectly by science. It’s a lot of really fun stuff that starts to lean into the world of Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider and Mephisto, and all of these other elements that also exist there, like ghouls and goblins and all sorts of cool things. We’re happy to be the ones to break the ice on that."

Is this confirmation that Mephisto has a role to play in Ghost Rider's appearance on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."? You'll notice Luna groups Mephisto together with Ghost Rider, not Doctor Strange.

In the comics, Mephisto grants Johnny Blaze the powers of Ghost Rider. Robbie Reyes receives his powers from the spirit of a man named Eli Morrow, who turns out to be Reyes' estranged uncle. Perhaps "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." is merging the origins of Blaze and Reyes together to include Mephisto. The Lord of Hell would be another huge wild card to add to the combustible mix of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Season 4 of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." premieres tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on ABC.