Key points
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Marvel Studios announced that Ryan Gosling has joined the MCU.
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The Project Hail Mary star will portray Ghost Rider in a 2028 solo movie.
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The film will be directed by Shawn Levy.
Ryan Gosling is rolling into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The La La Land star has officially been cast as Ghost Rider in a new film that will be released in 2028, Marvel Studios announced at its San Diego Comic-Con panel on Saturday.
The film will be directed by Shawn Levy, who helmed the 2024 Marvel film Deadpool and Wolverine and worked alongside Gosling on the upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter.
Gosling appeared on stage during the panel to punctuate the news. “As you know, this is a character I’ve wanted to play for a long time,” he said.
Levy said of his leading man, “We all agree Gosling is the absolute s‑‑‑.” He added, “Let’s ride, we’ll see you in 2028.”
Ghost Rider, a supernatural mantle ordinarily occupied by motorcycle stuntman Johnny Blaze, was previously portrayed by Nicolas Cage in the standalone films Ghost Rider (2007) and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011), which were not connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first of those films starred Gosling’s longtime partner, Eva Mendes, as Johnny’s girlfriend Roxanne Simpson.
Gabriel Luna later portrayed a different iteration of the character, Robbie Reyes, on the MCU TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.That show also alluded to the possible existence of Johnny Blaze in the MCU, but did not explicitly mention that character by name.
Marvel later tried to get a Ghost Rider TV series off the ground, but reportedly canceled those plans in 2019.
Happy Sad Confused host Josh Horowitz previously told Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige that Gosling told him he wanted to play Ghost Rider at Comic-Con in 2022.
“Ryan’s amazing. I’d love to find a place for him in the MCU,” Feige responded.
Earlier this year, Gosling confirmed that there was some momentum regarding his casting in the MCU. “We’ll keep hope alive,” he told Horowitz. “Some discussions have been had. It’s a complicated situation.”
Elsewhere at the panel, Marvel Studios announced that David Jonsson will take on the mantle of Black Panther in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther 3, which will hit theaters Dec. 15, 2028.
Check out more of EW’s coverage fromSan Diego Comic-Con 2026.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
