Ghost Rider's debut in the MCU And if...? season three may have been the perfect opportunity to bring Keanu Reeves into the franchise in his dream role. The end of And if...? season three wrapped up the multiversal story, complete with cameos from variants from other universes in the vast Marvel franchise. And if...? Season 3's multiversal cameos were plentiful in the final episode, featuring interesting variants like a Thanos and Wolverine hybrid for Spider-Man and a Hulk Sorcerer Supreme.
One of the other cameos found at the end of And if...? season three was Ghost Rider, a character many hoped would be included in upcoming Marvel films. That said, the Marvel movies releasing in 2025 are set in stone, with Captain America: Brave New World, Fantastic Four: Getting Started, and Rays* being the only theatrical films of that year. This means Ghost Rider won't appear again anytime soon. Despite this, its appearance in And if...? season three still gives Marvel a great opportunity to give Keanu Reeves his dream role in the MCU.
Keanu Reeves wanted to play Ghost Rider
It was Reeves' dream role
Firstly, it's worth exploring the connection between Keanu Reeves and Ghost Rider. Given that Reeves is one of the most iconic and recognizable actors in modern Hollywood, fans have long speculated about a role for him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Theories have been rife for years, with several characters from Marvel Comics' vast collection being considered potential superheroes for Reeves to play. However, one character was created more often than others, even by Reeves himself.
That character is Johnny Blaze, the most prominent variant of Marvel Comics' Ghost Rider. For years, Reeves has insisted that Johnny Blaze is his dream role and that he has wanted to play the character since he was a child. Naturally, this caused a lot of discussion among the MCU fanbase, with theories being drawn up about what projects Reeves could first appear in as Ghost Rider. Evidently, Reeves would not object to this, with And if...? potentially opening the door for this to happen.
Ghost Rider finally appeared in an MCU version
As mentioned, Ghost Rider has finally debuted in an MCU project. Although Ghost Rider appeared in Agents of SHIELDIt's unclear whether this show is currently canon to the MCU. The possibilities of the multiverse insist so, but And if...? is a show produced specifically by Marvel Studios under the Marvel Animation banner. Therefore, And if...? Season 3 is the first official appearance in the MCU of a Ghost Rider variant. This appearance comes in the final montage of And if...? season 3, episode 8.
As Uatu the Watcher takes viewers and And if...?From the Guardians of the Multiverse across the vast realities, a version of Ghost Rider can be seen. This version is devoid of the iconic motorcycle synonymous with the Marvel Comics design, instead showing a samurai iteration of the character. Thanks to the entire premise of And if...?, A possible reality was imagined in which the Spirit of Vengeance defeated a warrior from ancient Japan. Through this small glimpse, it has been confirmed that a samurai Ghost Rider exists somewhere in the MCU multiverse.
Theoretically, this means the samurai Ghost Rider could return in the MCU's future. With the next two Avengers films set to focus heavily on the multiverse and the combination of multiple universes into Secret Warsthis iteration of Ghost Rider may be involved. With that in mind, Keanu Reeves could be cast as this version of the character to give him his dream Marvel role once and for all.
A Samurai Ghost Rider could pay homage to Keanu Reeves' martial arts background
Reeves' story fits into this version of Ghost Rider
While Ghost Rider's regular Johnny Blaze variant was often considered perfect for Reeves, the samurai version shown in And if...? the third season could be even more perfect for the actor. This is due to how well it would fit into Reeves' background, specifically how committed he is to his roles. When playing as a samurai in 47 Ronin, Reeves studied Bushido, the moral code of ancient samurai.
Not only that, but Reeves' martial skill and decades of performing his own fight scenes and stunts would allow him to perfectly convey the skill set of a samurai...
Thanks to this, Reeves will already have a good idea of what it's like to portray a samurai on screen. Not only that, but Reeves' martial prowess and decades of performing his own fight scenes and stunts would allow him to perfectly convey the skill set of a samurai. If this were combined with the Spirit of Vengeance in the future of the MCU, one of the And if...?The film's most exciting and intriguing multiversal possibilities could come to life with its perfect actor.