Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been a show that seems comfortable completely changing its gameplan at least once a season, and that's indeed how the transition from Season 3 to Season 4 can be described, with exciting shake-ups happening all around, both within S.H.I.E.L.D. and within the characters themselves. And when those changes arrive, so will one Robbie Reyes, a.k.a. Ghost Rider, and it has been revealed the Season 4 premiere will also feature Fear the Walking Dead star Lorenzo James Henrie in the pivotal role of Robbie's brother Gabe.
News of Lorenzo James Henrie's involvement with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was made public through the episode synopsis unveiled by ABC, so there wasn't a lot of fanfare involved. But that's fine, because fans create all the celebration needed. Both Henrie and Gabriel Luna, who was cast as Ghost Rider, are tagged as guest stars, but we're keeping optimism high that they'll have the chance to reappear in future episodes.
Robbie Reyes was introduced to the Ghost Rider mythos in 2014 for All-New Ghost Rider by Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore. He's very protective of his younger brother Gabe, who is disabled and bullied by classmates and others. For the comics, Robbie wants to get out of the dangerous part of town to keep his brother safe, and he's turned into the flame-headed badass after things go terribly when he attempts to win money through a street race. Well, terribly for his human form, anyway.
Unfortunately, the premiere synopsis didn't actually have any details about what to expect from either Ghost Rider or Gabe, so we can only assume that things will go down somewhat similarly to how they played out on the page. Gabriel Luna was recently seen on Discovery's rocking miniseries Harley and the Davidsons, but there assumedly won't be any motorcycles involved here, as Robbie Reyes' Ghost Rider was tethered to a muscle car. But even that's up in the air, I guess. Will Gabe still be in a wheelchair even?
Lorenzo James Henrie started his career of with a recurring role on 7th Heaven, and went on to appear in several big network dramas over the years like NCIS: Los Angeles and Cold Case before landing his first huge role on Fear the Walking Dead as Chris. Fans of the zombie drama know that his story got ratcheted up to crazy levels in Season 2, particularly in the post-hiatus episodes, so it's great that he'll get to complement that role with one that is quite notable in a different way, even if it doesn't last all that long. Henrie had auditioned for a role in Spider-Man: Homecoming earlier this year, and it appears as if that gig fell through, with Marvel keeping his file handy for other roles. Unless he'll also play Gabe Reyes in that movie. But we can't let ourselves go down that trail of speculation.
With a new director, a new robot AIDA and an on-the-run Daisy, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will return to ABC for its action-packed Season 4 on Tuesday, September 20, at 10:00 p.m. ET. To see when all your other favorite shows that may or may not have Ghost Riders in them are coming, check out our fall TV schedule.
