Why Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider Was Ruled Out for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Role

Deadpool & Wolverine has become a huge success, surpassing the billion-dollar mark and ranking as the year’s second-highest-grossing film, just behind Inside Out 2. While critics were lukewarm, fans adored the movie—and for the future of the franchise, fan enthusiasm is what really matters.

The film was packed with cameos and Easter eggs, drawing from Marvel’s extensive roster of characters. Many fan favorites made it into the final cut, but several others didn’t.

We’ve already covered some of these missed opportunities, and now, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and director Shawn Levy have shared more about why Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider was one of the characters ultimately left out.

Shawn Levy shared that they were fortunate to get so many positive responses from actors, which ultimately improved the movie: “Luckily, we got a lot of yeses. Mostly because Ryan would just call them directly. He’d often do an ambush FaceTime and put them on the spot.”

However, not everyone said yes. We’ve already covered what happened with Ben Affleck’s Daredevil, and now it’s time to dive into why Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider was left out. Despite being initially planned for the film, Cage’s Ghost Rider didn’t make the final cut, and Ryan Reynolds recently revealed why.

They were in early drafts We had versions of that [sequence], but then as it shook out, you’re sort of looking…We’re trying to make the movie responsibly, as well. It’s a big budget. It’s the biggest budget of any of the Deadpool movies, but you want to give yourself as much constraint, which really I think facilitates asymmetrical thinking and creativity.

If you have too much time or too much money, it usually murders that kind of creativity. So, yeah, you’re shrinking things. But we did talk to Nic Cage. We tried to get him, but he was a no-go…. I would’ve loved him.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Unfortunately, it just didn’t come together. While we agree with Reynolds that Cage’s appearance would have added something special to the movie, it just wasn’t meant to be. Still, there’s always hope we might see Cage return as Ghost Rider someday. In the meantime, fans can look forward to his role as Spider-Man Noir.

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