Nicolas Cage played the lead role, Johnny Blaze aka the Ghost Rider, in the 2007 film adaptation of the Marvel comic book series Ghost Rider. In it, a young Johnny Blaze, an up-and-coming stuntman following in his father’s footsteps, sells his soul to an arch-demon named Mephistopheles in order to save his father from lung cancer. As per their agreement, the arch-demon rids Johnny’s father of the cancer, only to have him die the next day in a motorcycle stunt.

Years later, when Blackheart, the son of Mephistopheles, comes to Earth and enlists three other fallen angels in an attempt to take it over, Blaze is called upon. He transforms into the Ghost Rider in order to take on Blackheart and his minions.

Coincidentally, Nicholas Cage’s next thriller is called Next. The film is based on the short story the Golden Man by Philip K. Dick. Cris Johnson, played by Nicolas Cage, has a secret power: he can see into the future. As a child, he underwent countless examinations from people trying to learn more about his power, which forced him into hiding. He’s now in Las Vegas under an assumed name, working as a showroom magician and living off of small gambling winnings.

However, when terrorists threaten to blow up Los Angeles, Cris is the only one who can stop it and government agent Callie Ferris (played by Julianne Moore) must convince him to help. Jessica Biel stars as Nic Cage’s love interest. Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day) is directing from a screenplay by Gary Goldman, Jonathan Hensleigh, and Paul Bernbaum.

Nicolas Cage is somewhat of a hit or miss for me. He’s fantastic in movies like Adaptation and Matchstick men, but then he hams it up in movies like Ghost Rider. Lets only hope we get the “good” Nic Cage in Next, which opens on April 27, 2007.