Norman Reedus fuels fan speculation he'll play the MCU's Ghost Rider
Is Norman Reedus about to become a superhero?
The Walking Dead star has garnered a passionate fan base over his many years of playing Daryl Dixon, and now those viewers want to see Reedus' dream of playing the vengeful comics character Ghost Rider come true. Fans keep tweeting about how much they want to see Reedus play the role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and lately the actor has been fueling speculation by liking dozens of those tweets on his verified account.
Reedus also tweeted a link to an Instagram post Monday from a fan account suggesting that the role is his, and the website Giant Freakin Robot reported that the actor is the Marvel's choice to play Ghost Rider. A representative for the actor told EW there's "no truth to this at this time."
Representatives for Disney didn't immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
Earlier this summer, Reedus spoke about his aspiration in an interview with Comicbook.com. "I want to play Ghost Rider," he said. "The Ghost Rider conversation has been coming up for years, and yeah, tell them to put me in it."
Marvel's Ghost Rider is the incarnation of the Spirit of Vengeance, and is best known for his very distinctive look: a flaming skull for a head, a black leather jacket, a weaponized chain whip, and a motorcycle powered by the fires of hell. Multiple Marvel characters have taken up the mantle over the years, but the first, Johnny Blaze, remains the most famous.
The character was first portrayed on screen by Nicolas Cage in the 2007 film Ghost Rider and its 2012 sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. A different version of Ghost Rider, a Hispanic character named Robbie Reyes, who drives a hellfire car instead of a motorcycle, appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., portrayed by Gabriel Luna. In 2019 it was rumored that Luna's Ghost Rider might star in his own Hulu series, but those plans eventually fell through.
If Reedus does get the part, it would probably be more like the Blaze version, since the actor is a big fan of motorcycles. He's ridden them often on The Walking Dead and also has a motorcycle-centric travel series called Ride With Norman Reedus.
For Reedus fans, it could be a match made in heaven… or hell.
This article was updated to include comment from Reedus' rep.
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