Mel Gibson and Cole Hauser star in Panama, an edge-of-your-seat action thriller set during the political upheaval of 1989 Panama. When the U.S. is on the brink of invading Panama, a former marine (Hauser) is hired by a CIA operative (Gibson) for a top-secret arms trade mission. Alone and among the most dangerous arms dealers, Becker learns the true nature of political power.
The movie is helmed by Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance co-director Mark Neveldine, and we recently caught up with the filmmaker over email to discuss his work on Panama.
We'll bring you the full interview tomorrow, but asked Mark how he looks back at his time in the Marvel Universe and what his hopes are for Ghost Rider in the MCU (rumours persist that a reboot is in the works). "Johnny Blaze will continue to grow his legend," he told us. "I kind of wish we could have made the rated R version of that movie, but it was one of the greatest times in my life. My first child was born in Romania, and working with Nic Cage was better than you can imagine."
As for what he'd specifically like to see from Ghost Rider moving forward, the director simply responded: "Ghost Rider should blaze through the Avengers and lay them to waste."
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance delivered a bonkers take on the character back in 2012, but in a year that also saw the release of movies like The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man, it ended up being somewhat overshadowed. Sony Pictures would ultimately decide to let the rights to the character revert to Marvel Studios, and while the Robbie Reyes Ghost Rider appeared briefly in ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Johnny Blaze has remained on the shelf ever since.
As for whether a return to the superhero genre is possible after Panama, Nelevdine teased his plans to tell the story of what he describes as a "super anti-hero." He revealed, "I'm finally writing again. One of the projects does involve a super anti-hero. Not of the Marvel kind..." Consider us intrigued!
Panama arrives in theaters, Digital, and On Demand on March 18, 2022.