Ryan Gosling Is Ghost Rider — Marvel's Biggest Surprise of Comic-Con Just Dropped

Marvel Studios saved its biggest surprise for last — well, almost last. During Saturday night's Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Kevin Feige confirmed that Ryan Gosling is joining the MCU as Ghost Rider, in a film set for 2028.

The Details:

• Star: Ryan Gosling as the Spirit of Vengeance

• Director: Shawn Levy (Deadpool & Wolverine)

• Writer: Jonathan Tropper

• Release: 2028

How It Came Together

According to Feige, Gosling had talked about wanting to play Ghost Rider for years — but the deal reportedly clicked into place on the set of Star Wars: Starfighter, where Gosling and director Shawn Levy are currently working together. Feige said he'd seen footage from that film and loved it, which seems to have sealed his confidence in pairing the two again for Marvel.

Why It's a Big Deal

Ghost Rider has been a notoriously tricky character for Hollywood — the Nicolas Cage films (2007 and 2011) were critically panned, and Marvel Studios has kept the flaming-skull antihero mostly at arm's length since reclaiming the film rights, with only a live-action TV appearance (Gabriel Luna in Hulu's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) to speak of. Handing the role to an A-lister like Gosling, paired with a filmmaker who already has MCU/R-rated credibility via Deadpool & Wolverine, signals Marvel is serious about giving the character a real theatrical shot this time — and positions 2028 as an increasingly stacked year, with Black Panther 3 also landing that December.

What We Don't Know Yet
No plot details, no word on which Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze vs. Robbie Reyes) Gosling will play, and no confirmed connections to the rest of the Multiverse Saga's endgame. More is expected to trickle out as Avengers: Doomsday nears its December release.