Ghost Rider's Perfect MCU Debut Look Would Blend Practical Effects & CGI

No Marvel movie or show has nailed the perfect live-action Ghost Rider look, which gives the MCU an opportunity to do it soon. Ghost Rider is one of the most famous characters from the supernatural corner of the Marvel Universe. Yet, he has only appeared in two movies and one TV show. Nicolas Cage infused Johnny Blaze with his energetic style in 2007’s Ghost Rider and 2012’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Then, Gabriel Luna’s Robbie Reyes carried the curse in Agents of SHIELD.

For Halloween 2025, redditor r/ARMOUREDZOMBIE designed a stunning Ghost Rider cosplay with homemade flame effects. The cosplayer uses tulle fabric with carefully placed lights underneath in order to create the flashy effects of Ghost Rider’s raging flames. The balance between yellow and orange in the fire piece makes the effect quite realistic for such a tricky costume to pull off.

Ghost Rider Needs To Use A Blend Of Practical Effects & VFX In The MCU

It’s Possible To Create Part Of Ghost Rider’s Live-Action Skull & Fire With Make-Up

An MCU Ghost Rider could reach new heights of realism by blending practical effects with CGI to create a version that feels much more tangible than the previous two. Both Nicolas Cage’s Johnny Blaze and Gabriel Luna’s Robbie Reyes relied almost entirely on digital effects, which resulted in transformations that looked a little too smooth. A base of prosthetics, enhanced with CGI, could make Ghost Rider’s infernal appearance more believable.

A hybrid Ghost Rider design would be similar to the approach used by Iron Man’s early armors, Vision, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ Galactus. Like them, the MCU’s Ghost Rider actor could wear a sculpted skull mask layered with LED fixtures embedded around the eye sockets and crown, creating dynamic lighting that actually interacts with the rest of the costume and the environment. CGI fire would then complete the illusion by turning subtle, real light reflections into a roaring blaze.

Ghost Rider’s Proper MCU Debut Is Long Overdue

All Live-Action Ghost Riders Exist Tangentially To The MCU’s Main Continuity

Ghost Rider is one of the biggest Marvel characters not to have properly appeared on-screen in the MCU yet. Technically, both Johnny Blaze and Robbie Reyes exist in the MCU multiverse. Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider inhabits his own separate timeline, while Gabriel Luna’s Robbie Reyes and the unknown variant of Johnny Blaze that granted him his powers both exist in Agents of SHIELD‘s branch of the Sacred Timeline. Still, an Earth-616 version of the anti-hero is nowhere to be seen.

By 2025, the MCU has introduced a growing list of similarly dark and supernatural-themed characters. Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing, Elsa Bloodstone, Moon Knight, Agatha Harkness, and Scarlet Witch herself are some of the MCU anti-heroes who could precede Ghost Rider’s introduction. After Blade’s on-screen debut and following the end of an era with Avengers: Secret Wars, there might be more room for a Ghost Rider to get his time in the spotlight.

The MCU could adapt Agents of SHIELD‘s Ghost Rider lore and integrate both Robbie Reyes and Johnny Blaze. But if Marvel Studios wishes to stand apart, the MCU could introduce Danny Ketch instead. Otherwise, an adaptation of Marvel Comics’ current Spirits of Violence crossover could bring every major Ghost Rider together for a shared debut. This would be a somewhat similar approach to Deadpool & Wolverine‘s introduction of both titular heroes and other X-Men characters in the MCU.