Elba, Whitworth gear up for "Ghost Rider" sequel

Nicolas Cage in ghost rider

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Idris Elba and Johnny Whitworth are in negotiations to join the cast of "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance," Columbia's sequel to the 2007 hit.
Based on the Marvel comic, the movie stars Nicolas Cage, returning as the demonic biker antihero, with Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor directing.
The story finds Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider (Cage), 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.
Elba plays an alcoholic warrior monk tasked with finding Ghost Rider. Whitworth plays a criminal who is recruited by the devil to find the boy and is later turned into a demonic creature.
Neveldine and Taylor also wrote the script, working off a story by David Goyer.
Elba recently came on board a new adaptation of James Patterson's best-selling Alex Cross books; he starts work on "Cross" in 2011. The character previously was played by Morgan Freeman in "Along Came a Spider" and "Kiss the Girls."
In the meantime, Elba next will be seen in the title role of the hit British detective drama "Luther," which hits BBC America this month, and plays Heimdall in Marvel's "Thor," due in May.

Johnny WhitWorth

Idris Elba