In the midseason finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Ghost Rider was taken off the board when he seemingly sacrificed himself to save the team. A highlight of season 4, fans were understandably disappointed to bid a premature farewell to the Spirit of Vengeance as the spotlight will now be turned to LMDs (Life Model Decoys) when the show returns next year.
So, why exactly did Ghost Rider vanish after seemingly saving a series which many have said was on its last legs before he showed up? Well, in a recent interview, executive producer Jeff Bell revealed that “financial considerations” were an issue. To be fair, that’s understandable, especially when so much of the character is brought to life with CG. After all, he’s previously only appeared in movies with much bigger budgets, so the fact he came to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at all was a genuine surprise.
However, that’s not the only reason that we’ve seen the last of Ghost Rider…for now, at least.
“[Ghost Rider is] a lot for 22 [episodes], especially with everything else that we like and care about on the show. It would feel like one flavour over a long period of time. We’ve certainly left it open [to revisit].”
So, he could very well come back then before season 4 is over (and probably will). That was a sentiment echoed by fellow producer Jed Whedon, who noted, “[Ghost Rider] is trapped in another place, which usually means that he’s not dead.” The how and when of his return in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. have not been divulged, but fans have already begun speculating.
It’s also worth noting that there’ve been talks of a Ghost Rider spinoff, so perhaps that’s the plan? For now, we’ll just have to wait and see, but expect the first clues to drop in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. when it returns next year.