Caffeinated Clint
“Thor” co-star Idris Elba has announced he has a deal with Marvel studios that could potentially see the promising young actor fronting several superhero-related projects.
The star of “The Losers” (also recently announced as the new Alex Cross in a film reboot of the James Patterson crime novel series) told Total Film earlier today that, “I have a picture deal with them (Marvel). I can’t tell you much about that, but I can tell you I’ll be back…I wouldn’t mind having a crack at bringing Blade back, personally…But erm, there’s a couple of things there that they have… Luke Cage is… very interesting.”
And surprise! surprise!… what did the trades announce just a few hours after the Total Film interview went live? No, not that Elba is the new ‘Blade’ or has snagged the role of ‘Luke Cage’ from under Tyrese Gibson’s feet, but that the actor is joining the cast of Marvel’s “Ghost Rider” sequel.
According to THR, Elba will play “an alcoholic warrior monk tasked with finding Ghost Rider”.
In the Neveldine/Taylor (“Crank”) directed follow-up, Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider (Nicolas Cage), is hiding out in remote Eastern Europe and struggling to repress his curse. Blaze is recruited by a sect to take on the devil (Ciaran Hinds), who wants to take over his mortal son’s body on the kid’s birthday.
In addition to Elba, the trade says Johnny Whitworth (“Empire Records”) has a role in the film as “a criminal who is recruited by the devil to find the boy and is later turned into a demonic creature.”
“Thor”, “Ghost Rider 2″… what’s the third thing Elba will likely end up doing for Marvel? Guesses?
