Its basically like Pirates. The only reason confusion comes up is because the studio doesn't know what they are doing exactly. The Pirates lost pretty much everyone except Depp, and it didn't follow the same story. However it still had tie in, the same thing will happen here.

Except it might be a little more like an origin story, and a better standing ground fore more movies.

ACtually if I recall Ghost Rider did quite well in the box office but was critically backlashed, hence why they decided to make another one and also allows them rectify them mistakes of the first.

I don't think its a reboot,you can call it a sequel ,but i think the movie will stand alone,like it was with the Punisher movies,like the one from 2004,it was an k movie,but it didn't feel like a Punisher movie,so they made War Zone in 2008 with Ray Stevenson and it was great,it was violent,it was darker,it was The Punished how it should be,i think if they are doing the same with Ghost Rider it will be great

According to the director, it is a sequel, and these are his words as he gives a synopsis the script: "Set several years after the first film, Johnny Blaze is in self-imposed exile from the world. Blaze has become a tormented soul, convinced that his powers are a curse. Former stuntman Blaze is then approached by Moreau, a member of the monastic order of Michael, the warrior angel. Moreau seeks a protector for a mother and son duo who are being pursued by a figure named Roarke – a fellow with a detailed knowledge of the Ghost Rider and his different identities over the centuries."

And by reboot he means a "mulligan".