Ghost Rider reboot: is Connor Storrie playing Danny Ketch?

Connor Storrie, the Heated Rivalry star, has reportedly been cast as the villain in the Ghost Rider reboot starring Ryan Gosling. Nothing about his role is confirmed, but a very compelling theory says he may not be a traditional villain at all. He could be Danny Ketch, the second Ghost Rider. In our discussion, the case was made that a second Ghost Rider would give Marvel freedom, and we're both excited to see Storrie in this.

Who is Connor Storrie playing in Ghost Rider?

The report that Storrie will play the reboot's villain set off a wave of guessing about his character. According to Josh Wilding at ComicBookMovie.com, speculation has run rampant, with Blackheart, the son of Mephisto, among the most popular suggestions.

Mephisto is the ultimate Ghost Rider villain, but we have already seen Sacha Baron Cohen in that role. That leaves the question of who Storrie could be, and which other player could fit into this story. A theory from Murphy's Multiverse, highlighted in Wilding's piece, argues that Storrie may have been cast as the MCU's Danny Ketch.

Why two Ghost Riders would work: the Doctor Strange and Wong comparison

The case was made in our discussion that Storrie playing another Ghost Rider is not a bad idea, because it gives Marvel freedom. The comparison offered was Doctor Strange and Wong. They are very different characters, but if Benedict Cumberbatch is not available, or the studio does not want to use Strange, Wong has been serving as Sorcerer Supreme and can fill the need for a master of the mystic arts.

The argument was that the same logic works here and lets Gosling come and go. He could still be attached for potentially ten years without being locked in for all of it. If Gosling needs to do something else, Storrie can carry the character.

The argument went that it would benefit Storrie too. He is already a star in his own right, but playing an MCU superhero would take him from the niche popularity of Heated Rivalry to A-lister status, since at that point his name is most likely going to be out there.

The Murphy's Multiverse theory: Connor Storrie as Danny Ketch

In the comics, Danny became the second Ghost Rider when he was introduced in Ghost Rider #1 in 1990. After discovering a mystical motorcycle in a Brooklyn cemetery, Ketch was transformed into the Spirit of Vengeance, gaining supernatural abilities and a hellfire-powered ride. Unlike Johnny Blaze, Wilding notes, Ketch's powers were tied to the mysterious spirit of vengeance, Zarathos.

The theory hinges on how early production leaks describe characters. Murphy's Multiverse says that studio sources routinely label characters who spend the first two acts of a script in opposition to the hero as antagonists or villains. By that logic, Storrie could be a misunderstood antihero hunted by Gosling's veteran Ghost Rider for two acts. Wilding argues this is not wishful thinking, because it comes straight from the pages of the 1990 Ghost Rider comic, in which Johnny and Danny, later revealed to be brothers, initially clashed when they met. He adds that a story like this would avoid repeating the 2007 Ghost Rider movie.

The bigger advantage, according to Wilding, is that Marvel Studios would have more than one Ghost Rider moving forward. As Murphy's Multiverse puts it, Gosling anchors the launch and Storrie carries the flaming chain into the future, while Gosling remains available for supernatural team-ups such as the long-rumored Midnight Suns. Wilding notes that this is known to be a passion project for Gosling, but if he does not want a long-term commitment to the MCU, he could introduce a seasoned Johnny before passing the torch to one of Hollywood's rising stars.

The theory remains unconfirmed and disputed. Wilding called it a great idea but said only time will tell whether it pans out, and he pointed out that one scooper has already pushed back on it.

Blackheart, Mephisto and Ezekiel as other options for Connor Storrie

Asked whether Ketch or Blackheart was the better fit, the response in our discussion was that the Blackheart character is coming either way. Danny is intrinsically tied to Blackheart because of the tragedy that befalls him, so that element is happening regardless.

Mephisto was described as someone to build toward. He was introduced in a TV series that did not do well, so the view was that the movie cannot simply reveal him and expect impact. If the story is dealing with the devil, he needs to be built up, not revealed as Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat-style Mephisto pitching a deal for your soul. He needs to be at least a Thanos-level threat.

A third option floated for Storrie was Ezekiel, played as a power-hungry archangel trying to overthrow heaven with an almost dogmatic sense of righteousness. The appeal, as explained in the discussion, is stories that turn morality on its head, where the figures we associate with goodness are fallen and terrible, and literal hellspawn have to set things right. That inversion was called fascinating from the perspective of a recovering Catholic.

Connor Storrie's talent beyond Heated Rivalry

Whatever the role turns out to be, we're both excited about Storrie himself. In the discussion he was called incredible, with exceptional dialect work, and great and charismatic on SNL.

His Russian came up as well. He did not become fluent, but he learned enough to improvise a little, with accent work and pronunciation strong enough to be convincingly Russian for the role, something called incredibly fantastic.

The casting drew jokes, too. It was noted that for Ghost Rider, the man made of hellfire, Marvel went and got the star of Heated Rivalry. Out came jokes about the two Ghost Riders having a heated rivalry of their own, with a secret Mephisto can never know about. The point was made that pitching it as Heated Rivalry season three, but a movie about hell demons, is how you will get all of the ladies who are not interested in the MCU into the seats.

Jokes aside, the case was made that Storrie is very talented and should be seen outside that one role. When someone debuts in a mega hit, it can be too easy for audiences to stop seeing them as anything else. Ghost Rider would be a good indicator of whether he truly has staying power or is tied to Heated Rivalry. The belief expressed was that he's talented enough that this will be the thing that truly launches him into the stratosphere, and we both want to see him outside that show.