Well, here’s a movie we haven’t been talking about much, but leave it one of the stars to get news on the film moving again. Last we heard, the Nic Cage-led sequel “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” was shooting in Eastern Europe with “Crank” writer/directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor strapping on roller skates and swinging from trees or doing whatever they do in shooting the film. Remarkably, the villain has been kept under wraps until now — which probably speaks to geek curiosity around project (ie. none) — but actor Johnny Whitworth finally spilled the beans.
In an interview with AMC Theaters (via MTV), Whitworth revealed, “I’m not a very nice guy. I’m bad. I get turned into, for those who read ‘Ghost Rider’, the character Blackout. I get turned into him by the Devil to complete my job. That gives me the fortitude to fight Ghost Rider and the supernatural abilities to compete on some level with that guy.”
The muddy origins of Blackout in the comics likely have given Neveldine and Taylor some room to play. The story goes that Deathwatch hired Blackout to steal something, but he is stopped by Ghost Rider who would end up disfiguring his face leading to a long standing grudge between the two. Blackout also kills Ghost Rider’s sister in the comics as well. No word if either of those stories will play into the movie but it doesn’t seem like it. At any rate it looks like the Devil (played by Ciaran Hinds) will play a part in Blackout getting his powers. Now that we know all this, we aren’t any more excited to see the movie.
“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” will hit theaters on February 17, 2012 and will also star Violante Placido and Idris Elba.
