Having played the lead role in several disappointing films from recent years, Nicolas Cage has made the positive decision to walk away from the poorly-received Ghost Rider franchise.

Speaking to MTV News, the Oscar-winning actor of well-known blockbusters such as The Rock (1996) and Con-Air (1997) has revealed that he won’t be starring as fantasy hero Johnny Blaze in the planned third installment of the comic-book series. The decision was made following the poor reception of the second film, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011).

“I think the ship has sailed on that one. Contrary to whatever the perception is, that was an enormously successful movie. We made it for, like, $47 or $48 million dollars, and it approached $200 million. I view that as a success. I think people need to know we did that on a shoestring budget. When you look at it that way you see the enormous talent of Mark Neveldine and Bryan Taylor, that they were able to accomplish that. But personally, I’m done. I’ve done what I had to do with that part. You never say never, but right now, today, I would say that I’m done.”