Deadpool & Wolverine wasn’t just about Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman joining the MCU as the titular characters. In fact, the entire film was a send-off for characters that existed prior to the MCU, such as Blade, Elektra, and characters that we didn’t get to see properly introduced like Channing Tatum’s Gambit. Unfortunately, not every such character made the cut for Deadpool & Wolverine, and now we know that includes Ghost Rider as played by Nicolas Cage.
Nicolas Cage played the part of Ghost Rider in two different movies released in 2007 and 2011, respectively. While he hasn’t appeared in the role since, Cage’s own rejuvenated career over the past decade has certainly had fans talking. Many Marvel fans feel like Cage deserves another shot at playing Ghost Rider for this reason, and with the Multiverse being a common theme for the MCU today, it’s certainly a great way to get him.
This seems to have been the thought process shared by Ryan Reynolds during the making of Deadpool & Wolverine. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, the idea of bringing Cage into the movie was scrapped. It’s unknown why it didn’t work out, but given the characters we did get, there probably just wasn’t enough space to utilize him.
As shared by Reynolds while speaking with Collider:
“Yes,” Reynolds shared about considering adding Nicolas Cage as Ghost Rider to Deadpool & Wolverine. “Came to a conversation for sure. Yeah, but no.”
Of course, there are still other opportunities for Cage to return. For example, fans have Avengers: Secret Wars to look forward to, so hopefully we can still get a glimpse of Cage as the fan-favorite Marvel character before a new actor is chosen for the MCU. Otherwise, Cage is still busy on the Spider-Man side of things, playing the role of Spider-Man Noir in a live-action series of the same name after having voiced the character in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional MCU updates as we have them and any other details regarding Deadpool & Wolverine that occurred behind-the-scenes. It’s certainly an interesting film with an equally interesting production, and there are no doubt plenty of other stories that we’ll have revealed in the near future.