My proposal for a Ghost Rider television series breaks with most of the source material but tries to stay true to the overall essence of the characters mentioned. Purists may protest but I am a big believer in unconventional interpertations. For example, I never ever cared one bit about the Penguin but absolutley love everything about his reinvention on Gotham.
I also think the MCU would be better served deviating from it's current glossy, slick, hi-tech, National Security Super Hero formula and cinematic stylings by adding variety to the aesthetic choices of its Directors. With Ghost Rider we explore the raw, gritty, morally complex underside of the MCU, a world far removed from the spotlight and glamour and protections of the MCU SHIELD operations.
This series also avoids casting soap opera "pretty boys" in key roles. These are rough characters in a rough world and I want that to be central to the series. The MCU needs to get RAW and Ghost Rider is how I would do it.
The basic premise is high tension and complex choices in a violent world where nearly everyone is on the wrong side of the law and trying to stay one step ahead, or is a dirty player protected by the law and badge they carry, or has found themselves in a life gone sideways and are desperately trying to stay alive in incredibly dangerous circumstances.
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Johnny Blaze will be played by Barry Pepper. Pepper featured a near exact look to what I have in mind in the film Snitch. For Blaze he's a former Motorcross star that went to prison for several years. Maybe it was for some motorcycle parts he was using that were traced back to a chop shop.
Now he makes a living as the star stunt cyclist for a shady travelling carnival, "The Devil's Playground". The carnival setting gives us a chance to fill the show with quirky, edgy, unpredictable characters. This is carnival life so I would avoid traditional good looks and beauty.
The carnival itself is suspected of being a front operation for the criminal activities of an infamous biker gang, 'The Devil's Advocates" . So, between a carnival and biker culture we are casting for intensity and presence...the alpha males and in-your-face females of those worlds could never be convincingly played by the picture perfect stars we normally see.
The Advocates are led by a man known only as Mephisto, played by Peter Mullan. His role as Matt Mitchum in a series called Top of the Lake is very, very much what I would want to see in Ghost Rider. If you want a riveting, scene eating Mephisto, you hire Peter Mullan to channel his Matt Mitchum again. Trust me on that.
Mephisto is a violent, unpredictable, sexist, bigoted, alpha jerk. He slaps women. He breaks sentimental things out of spite. He has a Highlander type code for his gang that he calls his family. He claims to be the devil himself and explains his lack of supernatural powers as the ironic humor of God. He claims to be trapped in mortal flesh on earth...and that in itself is hell for him...and will only return to his supernatural, super powerful form when he dies and is cast into Hell. "Some choice,eh?", he might say in disgust.
Though he does not display powers he does have a deep knowledge and interest in rituals and majick. He likes bonfires and drums and dancing under the lit moon while firing guns in the air. He is a modern day viking on a harley. He's suspected of human sacrifices and murders...devoted to himself I should add. No one ever really challenges him on his claims. A few are close enough to question him in private but to contradict him in public will trigger extreme violence from him.
He is not only being investigated by the DEA and FBI for a variety of criminal activities such as drugs, stolen goods, human trafficking, etc...he is also suspect number one in the sensational Blackheart Murders...female victims with their hearts scorched out.
I would cast someone like David Morse as the lead investigator targeting Mephisto, or even as a rough undercover agent that has infiltrated the carnival or gang.
Mephisto has his son, Anton Satan, played by Paul Dana. Anton is an awkward runt that Mephisto berates and slaps around regularly..."For the boys own good", Mephisto might grunt in amswer to someone telling him to ease up on the kid.
Anton has deep issues. He wants his fathers approval while at the same time believes his father is actually just a crazy, violent drunk, and not the devil himself. Anton is alienated in a dysfunctional world.
Key relationships to explore:
Mephisto/Anton
Blaze /Anton
Blaze/Mephisto
****A female interest could be placed in the center of these male relationships to cause conflict and drama****
Blaze's involvement with federal investigators: Here i would want to have the feds be very proactive, very aggressive and morally questionable. I would want to clearly contrast Blazes efforts to live a quiet and peaceful life with the Feds eagerness to arrest Mephisto. Basically I would have the Feds coercing Blaze to assist their investigation.
The Blackheart Killer:
Someone has been killing young women along Route 66 and special Agent David Morse is the lead investigator following a grisly trail that points to the most dangerous biker gang in the country...
As the season unfolds and these characters become ever more entangled in drama Mephisto learns that Blaze is working with the Feds, at the same time he learns that Anton is the killer.
This sets up a series of actions designed to frame Blaze for the blackheart murders and kill him too.
.....And that brings us to the circumstances that introduce Ghost Rider to the series as Blaze returns to life as the Spirit of Vengeance.
Anton would also be killed and find himself as the supernatural demon Kid Blackheart to give the supernatural Ghost Rider a legitimate foe. Mephisto, however, would be sent to prison...the devil in a cell...and Blackheart would appear there to visit and torment him as Mephisto did to Anton during life. The great irony here is that if Mephisto would just take his own life, or allow himself to be killed, he would reclaim his demonic power. The catch is...he is the devil...he does not believe...and because he does not believe he is actually profoundly bothered by the idea of dying and even scared of it...leaving him imprisoned by his own mind.
This was just a basic write up with a lot of room to flesh things out but I hope the basic themes have come across well. Sorry for no pictures. I picked some fantastic ones that really reflect the vibe and look but internet. Ha. We need women like Rob Zombies wife for the show and all the easter eggs we can fit in. But it's a start.
Thoughts?