With a string of tough cancellations on the Netflix side, both The Gifted and Legion having been lain to rest, and a pilot that's been stuck in development hell for two years, and SHIELD possibly ending after Season 7, it could be easy to see how the live-action Marvel Television division may be facing an unclear future. Well it seems we may know further about that future soon enough.
Earlier tonight, the MCU's Ghost Rider, Gabriel Luna, tweeted this cryptic message:
Now, it would be easy to interpret this message as hinting that he's returning to the character in the upcoming sixth season of Agents of SHIELD, or in the currently-filming seventh season. But I think it's a tease for something much bigger: a team to call his own.
Earlier this month, Marvel registered several production-based trademarks for four titles:
Glyph, Helstrom, Ghost Rider, and Spirits of Vengeance. The specific kinds of marks registered for them are consistent with ones Marvel has registered for other TV series after their announcements (most recently the various shows making up Hulu's animated Offenders lineup and the "616" series bound for Disney+).
There are a couple interesting notes about these marks. The Spirits of Vengeance has, historically, been a team of Marvel's more horror based heroes, such as Blade, as well as two of the names listed in the marks, Helstrom and Ghost Rider. Glyph is a member of the Howlng Commandos in the comics (this version being another monster-themed version of the team). Certainly those three characters in a series would be quite a team to be reckoned with.
However, them each recieving their own marks opens a question: is Marvel planning one series with all three characters, or are they doing what they've done with Netflix and now Hulu: bundling a whole slate of shows together leading to a team-up series? If so, where would such a show end up? Ghost Rider originates on ABC, but a spinoff to somewhere like Hulu or the now Disney-owned FX isn't out of the question.
What do you think of this tease? Is it just him returning to Agents of SHIELD, or could these signs point to a bigger plan? Leave thoughts in the comments below.