- Primary Subject: MCU Ghost Rider Reboot
- Key Update: Comic writer Benjamin Percy envisions an R-rated body horror movie featuring Johnny Blaze.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: October 29, 2026
- Quick Answer: Ghost Rider writer Benjamin Percy wants Marvel Studios to make an R-rated horror movie with Ryan Gosling as Johnny Blaze.
If acclaimed writer Benjamin Percy had his way, he would want the new Ghost Rider movie to be an R-rated MCU film.
The original 2007 movie starring Nicolas Cage was rated PG-13, as was its sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.
While the MCU has yet to deliver a full-fledged horror movie, it has explored the genre through the horror-leaning film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the horror special Werewolf by Night. So, will Ghost Rider dare to take a darker, more horror-driven approach?
Will the MCU’s Ghost Rider Reboot Embrace the Horror Genre?
Benjamin Percy was responsible for the celebrated run of Marvel Comics’ Ghost Rider series from 2022 to 2023, bringing Johnny Blaze back to his dark, heavy-metal, occult horror roots.
In the series, Johnny escapes from a false-life prison, acts as a sheriff against supernatural and occult threats reminiscent of the 1970s, and rides along America’s backroads.
He was also responsible for creating Hellverine, a demon-bonded version of Wolverine. With his take on ’70s-era cult and underground horror, occult tales, and classic Lovecraftian stories, Percy helped establish one of the most distinctive interpretations of Ghost Rider.
So, if Percy got his wish, Marvel would take the same approach he used in the comics when telling Johnny’s story on the big screen.
“Let me say that as a horror head, this is my time, right? I’m in my zone right now,” he said (via ComicBook). “And I’m sure whatever Marvel conjures up is going to be great, but I would lean towards the R-rated horror version of the character and not do the standard cape and spandex, MCU type, which can be very effective if you’re doing a Doomsday storyline, or an X-Men storyline.”
He even suggested that Marvel should feature Johnny “pulling hot chains out of his mouth” in a “Hellraiser-style” scene or show “his skin melting right off of him with a halo of flames around.”
“Like, give us the body horror. Give us a really hellish iteration of Ghost Rider on the screen,” he continued. “We live in a golden age of horror. It’s time.”
What Is the MCU’s Ghost Rider About?
While the exact plot details of the MCU’s Ghost Rider remain under wraps, many expect the film to focus on Johnny Blaze’s supernatural journey as the fiery-skulled antihero.
It will serve as a formal reboot within the MCU, with Shawn Levy at the helm. It stars Ryan Gosling as Johnny himself, a motorcycle stunt performer bound to a demonic entity as a Spirit of Vengeance.
Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie is also reportedly in talks to play the movie’s main villain opposite Gosling.
While Mephisto is known as Ghost Rider’s archenemy and a primary antagonist who tricks Johnny into a demonic pact that curses him, there are other major villains that Storrie could play.
This includes Blackheart, Mephisto’s demonic son and the main antagonist in Nicolas Cage’s 2007 movie, and Zarathos, a powerful demon bonded to Johnny who acts as both his curse and an inner adversary he must learn to control.
Other notable Ghost Rider villains include Lucifer, Blackout, Lilith, Centurious, and Zadkiel. That said, it remains to be seen which character Storrie will play.
As Storrie's potential villain role is yet to be revealed, it remains to be seen who he will portray on the big screen.
The MCU’s Ghost Rider is set to hit theaters on July 28, 2028.
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