Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. alum and would-be Ghost Rider star Gabriel Luna shared new details on his canceled Hulu series.
While speaking to ComicBook.com, Luna revealed how far along the show was prior to its cancellation. "We were in full pre-production at that point now that Disney owned Fox and we had the Hulu relationship, that all would work out," he said. "I was doing everything in my power to make sure my mind and body were all prepared for a few-month-long engagement trying to get our show up."
Ghost Rider was announced in May 2019, alongside fellow series Helstrom. However, only Helstrom would end up being made, as it was reportedly far enough into production when Marvel Studios absorbed Marvel Television. Luna noted he was reassured by Hulu executives after the axing that neither the Spirit of Vengeance nor his portrayal was the problem, but that the series was just not in Hulu's plans. "It was really disappointing just in the end," he said. "I remember at the time I tried to have some perspective on it and you can't look back. You've got to just keep on plugging forward."
Luna added that he would "give all the money back just to do the show, just to give everything [he has] to that character for what we had, for that plan that we had. But you take the pay off and you move on, you move forward, and you try to continue your work."
As for the plot of the show, the actor went on to explain how he "had a really awesome idea that would have kept Robbie [Reyes] in L.A. and that would have pitted us against classic Ghost Rider villains," revealing that the character Lilith, Marvel Comics' Mother of Demons, would have served as the main villain. "And I think it would have led up to her being the big bad of what we were initially trying to start, which was this four-show, very Defenders-esque thing that was going to happen."
Luna concluded by saying there was "a great opportunity missed for a character that was truly beloved and, for a Mexican-American superhero to be prominently displayed, 'American' being the operative word. I'm always trying to tell people that the goal is, of course, to have ourselves represented on screen, but beyond that, the ultimate goal, the next step is to have others who don't look like us see themselves in us and that's what I was hoping to achieve at that show and I think we were there."
As for Ghost Rider's future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was reported in 2020 that Marvel Studios President/Marvel Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige was working on a new Ghost Rider project, albeit one without Luna's involvement. However, nothing about the project has been announced since then.
Source: ComicBook.com