Ryan Gosling finally becomes Marvel's Ghost Rider: 'Wow. Is this really happening?'

Dubai: Ryan Gosling is finally joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he's doing it as one of the studio's most unusual characters. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed the news himself on stage at Hall H during San Diego Comic-Con, introducing Gosling to a crowd that had reportedly been speculating about this exact casting for years.

Gosling didn't hide his own disbelief in the moment. "Wow. Is this really happening?" he told the audience. "As you know, this is a character I've wanted to play for a very long time." He then turned the announcement over to naming his director of choice, telling the crowd there was only one filmmaker who could bring the character to life properly.

Who Gosling is playing

Gosling will take on the role of Johnny Blaze, the character's classic comic-book identity, a stunt motorcyclist who becomes host to a vengeance-seeking demon known as the Spirit of Vengeance. It's a role with real screen history behind it. Nicolas Cage played Johnny Blaze in two prior films, 2007's Ghost Rider and its 2011 sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, neither of which were part of the MCU. Those two films combined grossed more than $361 million worldwide. A different version of the character, Robbie Reyes, was also played by Gabriel Luna across Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fourth season.

There's a small personal footnote to the casting too. Cage's original Ghost Rider co-starred Eva Mendes, who has been Gosling's real-life partner for well over a decade. Gosling has joked about the connection before, saying simply that he was glad one of them finally got to play the role.

Who's making the film

That director is Shawn Levy, who previously helmed 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine for Marvel and is currently working alongside Gosling on an entirely different project, Star Wars: Starfighter, due out on 28 May 2027. According to both men, the Ghost Rider idea actually grew out of downtime on that set.

Levy described the film coming together almost casually. "As Ryan started talking about his vision for this character, we started riffing," he said. "And I finally said, bro, let's ride. So guys, we'll see you in 2028." Jonathan Tropper, who also wrote Starfighter, is attached to write the script. The untitled Ghost Rider film is set for a 2028 theatrical release, with plot details not yet revealed.

Why this casting has been rumoured for years

This isn't a sudden decision. Gosling has been open about wanting to play Ghost Rider since at least 2022, when he first mentioned his interest to a journalist who passed the message along to Feige directly. Feige responded at the time that he'd love to find a place for Gosling somewhere in the MCU, though nothing was confirmed until now.

The role also fits a pattern that's become something of a signature for Gosling. He played a stunt rider in 2012's The Place Beyond the Pines, and starred as a professional stuntman in 2024's The Fall Guy, making a motorcycle-driven antihero role a fairly natural next step in that thread of his filmography.