Nicolas Cage Turned Down Ghost Rider Return in Deadpool & Wolverine

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Nicolas Cage Turned Down Ghost Rider Return in Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool & Wolverine star Ryan Reynolds opened up about Nicolas Cage‘s scrapped Ghost Rider return, which was part of the R-rated threequel’s early drafts along with Ben Affleck‘s Daredevil cameo.

Cage portrayed the fan-favorite Marvel antihero in 2007’s Ghost Rider and its 2011 sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Since then, no one has played the character on the big screen. However, Gabriel Luna has starred in multiple episodes of ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. show as the vigilante.

Ryan Reynolds on Nicolas Cage’s scrapped Ghost Rider return

During a recent interview with EW, Reynolds confirmed that Cage decided to turn down their invitation for him to reprise Ghost Rider in Deadpool & Wolverine. “We did talk to Nic Cage,” he shared. “We tried to get him, but he was a no-go…. I would’ve loved him.”

Reynolds added, “They [Cage & Affleck] were in early drafts. We had versions of that [sequence], but then as it shook out, you’re sort of looking…We’re trying to make the movie responsibly, as well. It’s a big budget. It’s the biggest budget of any of the Deadpool movies, but you want to give yourself as much constraint, which really I think facilitates asymmetrical thinking and creativity. If you have too much time or too much money, it usually murders that kind of creativity. So, yeah, you’re shrinking things.”

The film was directed by Shawn Levy from a screenplay written by Reynolds, Levy Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells. During its theatrical run, the newest MCU movie has earned a worldwide gross of over $1.3 billion at the box office, making it the second-highest-grossing movie of the year. The ensemble also includes Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Rob Delaney as Peter, Karan Soni as Dopinder, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Shioli Kutsuna as Yukio, Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova, Matthew Macfadyen as Paradox, Chris Evans as Human Torch, Jennifer Garner as Elektra, Wesley Snipes Blade, Dafne Keen as X-23, and Channing Tatum as Gambit.