January 23, 2005
Wes Bentley To Play "Ghost Rider" Villain
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
"American Beauty" & "The Four Feathers" star Wes Bentley will play the villain Blackheart in the live-action adaptation of comic "Ghost Rider," alongside Nicolas Cage and Director Mark Steven Johnson reports The Hollywood Reporter.
The Marvel property follows a former motorcycle stuntman who agrees to let his body become host to a vengeful spirit, Ghost Rider, a bike-riding demon, to secure the safety of his true love. Blackheart is the son of the arch-demon Mephisto and plans to displace his father to create a new hell even more terrible than the old one.
Bentley is a friend of Colin Farrell, who played villain Bullseye in "Daredevil" which Johnson directed. Farrell put the two together as Bentley's character has the same over the top bad guy appeal. Shooting begins next month in Australia.
Summary: A motorcycle stuntman makes a deal with the devil in order to save his mentor from cancer. His end of the bargain is a little more than he expected, however, and he is possessed by a demon. Every night, he transforms into the Ghost Rider, a humanoid form with a flaming skull for a head, and goes out to wreak vengeance on the guilty.