Gabriel Luna Says GHOST RIDER Is A Very Powerful Wild Card In AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.

Tonight marks the debut of Ghost Rider into the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., an appearance that's exciting for many fans who were left disappointed after Sony's two film installments starring Nicolas Cage. As we now know, it won't be Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch at the wheel, but rather Robbie Reyes and his Hellcharger that blaze a path through the lives of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team. In a new interview with Collider, Gabriel Luna (who plays Reyes/Ghost Rider) went into a little more detail about the role he plays this season. 

While fans may be disappointed in not seeing more well-known Ghost Riders, Luna confirms that it's Robbie's hardships in life that make him better suited for the story that Agents is telling. "Previous incarnations of the character are men who usually have a pretty decent life, to start out. Johnny Blaze is a famous Hollywood stuntman. Danny Ketch is not doing too bad to start with. And then, the Ghost Rider becomes this really heavy curse on them. Robbie is in an inverted position there. He had some hardships early in his life, and the Ghost Rider actually becomes an empowering thing. While it’s still difficult to deal with and very much a curse, he had some f*cked up shit going on before Ghost Rider ever came about."

While Agents branched out into the cosmos last season with the introduction of Hive, some worried that the show may stop short of the supernatural and root Ghost Rider's powers in science. While the showrunners have said it countless times themselves, Luna also reassures fans that his character is firmly rooted in the category of the strange and unexplainable. "Yeah, he’s very powerful," said Luna. "That’s a huge wild card to throw into the mix. We’re starting to toe the line and inch towards some ground that hasn’t been covered, but that is a huge part of the books themselves and the entire Marvel universe and the canon of Marvel’s assortment of characters. What we haven’t touched on are things that can’t be explained perfectly by science. It’s a lot of really fun stuff that starts to lean into the world of Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider and Mephisto, and all of these other elements that also exist there, like ghouls and goblins and all sorts of cool things. We’re happy to be the ones to break the ice on that."

For those who are worried that Ghost Rider won't be properly realized on a television budget, think again; Luna says this version of Ghost Rider may just be our most detailed and expressive yet. "Last season, Brett [Dalton] transformed into Hive and it was a really amazing effect that he did. I remember watching it on television and thinking how great it was. We’re using a lot of the same technology for my character. He took the Hive head off and put the Ghost Rider head on, and I thought, 'Wow, that’s great! It looks finished.' But, it wasn’t. A couple days ago, he showed me the finished version, and it’s really exciting to see. It moves and it thinks. There’s a lot of characterization in the face. He took care to preserve my performance in a bare bones skull. I’m thankful for that and I’m absolutely over the moon for people to see it. I think they’re going to be happy."

Marvel's fourth season of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. premieres tonight on ABC at 10PM. Will you be tuning in for the premiere? Sound off below!