Ryan Gosling’s long campaign to play Ghost Rider has reached its destination. Marvel Studios brought the Oscar nominee onto the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con to announce that he will headline a new Ghost Rider feature, with Shawn Levy attached to direct. The reveal earned a standing ovation from thousands of fans and became a centerpiece of Marvel’s presentation.
“This is a character I’ve wanted to play for a long time,” Gosling told the Comic-Con crowd, echoing remarks he has made in interviews over the years whenever the conversation turned to superhero roles. Levy reunites with the actor after Star Wars: Starfighter, while Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige introduced the project as part of the studio’s next theatrical slate. Marvel has yet to reveal a writer or story details, though the film is expected to introduce Johnny Blaze into the Marvel Cinematic Universe after years of fan speculation.
The casting carries an unexpected family connection. Gosling’s wife, Eva Mendes, starred opposite Nicolas Cage in 2007’s Ghost Rider, where she played television reporter Roxanne Simpson. Shortly after Marvel’s announcement, Mendes celebrated the news on social media. Days later, she also debunked an AI-generated image that falsely claimed Gosling had reunited with Cage backstage at Comic-Con, reminding fans that the photo was fabricated.
Ghost Rider has remained absent from the MCU despite years of speculation surrounding the supernatural antihero’s arrival. Gosling now becomes the latest actor to inherit the flaming skull after Cage’s two Sony films and Gabriel Luna’s portrayal of Robbie Reyes on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Marvel has not announced additional casting, but Levy’s involvement gives the project a filmmaker who recently delivered the studio’s biggest hit with Deadpool & Wolverine. Ghost Rider is currently targeting a 2028 theatrical release, though Marvel has yet to announce an exact premiere date.