Head of Marvel Studios, Avi Arad, recently spoke to Empire Australia Magazine about a handful of Marvel Comics-based films in or near production.
As previously reported, Arad says in the interview that Eric Bana was initially interested in playing the lead in Ghost Rider and that Bana and Arad hit it off immediately. Arad eventually persuaded Bana to pursue the role of Bruce Banner in The Hulk as opposed to Ghost Rider. The reason behind this is because Arad had his eyes set on Nicolas Cage for the Vengeance Spirit-possessed motorcyclist. "Ghost Rider to me was always Nic Cage", says Arad "because he has the eyes." Arad called Ghost Rider "one of the greatest morality tales" and mentions that they are about to start work on the film. Additionally, Cage recently made appearances on The MTV Movie Awards, The Late Show with David Letterman, and other shows wearing a black leather biker jacket. While that alone may conjure images of Cage as Johnny Blaze, reportedly the most interesting part of the jacket was the image of a flaming skull on the back. Perhaps we may still see Cage in the role, despite the film going through a number of changes.
The Hulk is currently filming, under the direction of Ang Lee, while
