Thank you to @Discovery and @HarleyDiscovery for our new @Schottnyc jackets! I think #JohnnyBlaze would approve. pic.twitter.com/CgAan08R7L
— Gabriel Luna (@IamGabrielLuna) August 3, 2016
There’s a new Ghost Rider in town and his name is Gabriel Luna. Actually, Luna will be playing Robbie Reyes, Marvel’s newest version of the Spirit of Vengeance, on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The big announcement came at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con and now the actor is speaking out on taking on the man with the flaming head.
Reyes first appeared in the issue All-New Ghost Rider #1 on May 26, 2014 as a mechanic who loves his little brother, Gabe. When his plan to save his younger sibling goes south, the Spirit of Eli Morrow resurrects him as the new Ghost Rider. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Luna talked about stepping into the shoes of the relatively new character. “Because there is so little material on him right now, a lot of the show is going to be expanding the Ghost Rider canon,” he said. “That’s really cool. It’s all me. It’s all on me.” This will be the first time the character will be portrayed in live-action on television.
With expectations high and an extensive history to sift through, Luna made sure he knew exactly what he was getting into before hitting the set. “When I finally found out what it was, I did my research and I looked into it, and that’s when I discovered that there was this new incarnation of Ghost Rider,” he added.
In case you were wondering, he already shot the first episode and, yes, he will be physically riding around on a motorcycle—flames not included. Special effects will add those in later. “The flaming head? Yeah, that’s me. I am playing that. We have this great VFX for it, and I saw the mockup the other day and I thought it was completely finished. I was like, ‘Just throw that up on my TV.’ It’s a combination of CG and also some marking on my face so I can do some expressions.” I’ve never been attached to the character (sorry not sorry, Nicolas Cage), but there’s something inherently endearing about seeing an actor so excited for the role. Since being cast, Luna has been sharing all of his great finds on social media and I was not prepared for this amount of adorable fanboying.
My Ghost Rider Playlist: Track 10 (grand finale); Ghost Riders in the Sky – Johnny Cash – Full Song https://t.co/mi7BKrKWNk — Gabriel Luna (@IamGabrielLuna) August 12, 2016
Catching sinners in my rear view. #GhostRider #RobbieReyes #HellCharger 🔥💀🔥
A photo posted by Gabriel Luna (@iamgabrielluna) on
Time for a trip to the toy store.#Lego #ghostrider #minifig @marvel @agentsofshield 🔥💀🔥 pic.twitter.com/bGdIQQWMo6 — Gabriel Luna (@IamGabrielLuna) August 5, 2016
Still haven’t named it, but the #HellCharger aka “Christine’s Boyfriend is back home from ComicCon. #GhostRider pic.twitter.com/mobstdgVKO
— Gabriel Luna (@IamGabrielLuna) July 25, 2016
Maybe it’s time to finally cave and check out the Robbie Reyes series before watching Luna in action on Sept. 20.
(via The Hollywood Reporter, image via Flickr)
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