20 2000s Movies That Could Never Be Made Today

Before the MCU was a thing, when Marvel was handing out licensing agreements like fun coupons, we were gifted something that would seem impossible by today’s standards: a Nicolas Cage-led Ghost Rider movie.

Decked out in biker gear, with dyed-black hair and an improbable six-pack, the 45-year-old Cage leapt into action as 38-year-old motorcycle stuntman Johnny Blaze. Having traded his soul to Mephistopheles at 17, the big guy comes back to claim his due and makes Johnny the Ghost Rider, a demonic skeleton that rides a flaming, Harley-style Hell Cycle, smiting those with evil in their hearts. 

It's not the greatest film ever, but it's OTT, it's fun, and it doesn't take itself too seriously, with director Mark Steven Johnson letting Cage really do his thing, even in those scenes where CG covers his face. But the simple fact is that they just don't make superhero pictures like this anymore. This was one of the last truly pre-MCU hero movies, with Cage absolutely unleashed as Johnny Blaze, giving the film the free-wheeling sense of being able to go anywhere, no bigger narratives, and grand designs. Nobody, not least of all Kevin Feige, would be putting this thing on the slate today.