Ghost Rider
ABC, Marvel Entertainment

Slam on the breaks!  Hulu is not moving forward with the ‘Ghost Rider’ live-action TV series that was announced back in May, along with another Marvel TV project, ‘Helstrom’.  Deadline reports that ‘Helstrom’ is still in the works, but that Hulu and the ‘Ghost Rider’ creative team reached an impasse that could not be resolved.  Gabriel Luna, who played Ghost Rider on ABC’s ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ was set to star, even though this was supposed to be a new start for the character and would not have carried on the continuity from ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’.  ‘Ghost Rider’ would have been a co-production between Marvel TV and ABC Signature.  Ingrid Escajeda was attached to executive produce and act as showrunner.

Could this have anything to do with the rumors that Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige want to use Ghost Rider in the movie universe?  Well, not according to this report.  The reason basically boils down to “creative differences,” but y’know believe what you will.

 

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This cancellation should not only come as a disappointment to fans of the Marvel TV shows and the Ghost Rider character, but as a huge shock considering that it seemed that Marvel TV and Hulu were diving headfirst into a supernatural programming block, with ‘Ghost Rider’, ‘Helstrom’, and Hulu’s established series ‘Runaways’ taking on a new paranormal spin for its third season, with the casting of Elizabeth Hurley as the evil sorceress Morgan Le Fay.  There was even a banner for these shows: “Marvel Terror.”

It’s possible that ‘Ghost Rider’ could be shopped elsewhere, but where?  Jeph Loeb, the head of Marvel TV, who would have produced this show, already went on the record to say “No, we never intended for it to be on ABC because we wanted to do a show that was more mature.”  It wouldn’t fit Disney’s cable network Freeform, which mainly targets a young female audience.  ‘Ghost Rider’ probably wouldn’t be welcome on Disney+, which is only hosting shows from Marvel Studios (not Marvel TV), that are directly tied to the movie universe.  And Loeb’s comment that this was to be a “more mature” show would also seem to indicate that it wouldn’t be welcome on the family-friendly streaming service.

Are you disappointed that ‘Ghost Rider’ never made it to development?