Ryan Gosling Is Marvel’s New Ghost Rider, Fulfilling Years of Fan Casting
At San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H, Marvel finally confirmed that long‑teased MCU casting — and the choice drew one of the night’s loudest ovations.
Inside Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, the roar hit before the logo did: Ryan Gosling walked out beside Kevin Feige to confirm he’s Marvel ’s new Ghost Rider. Marvel announced the character will headline a standalone MCU movie from director Shawn Levy , reuniting the pair after their collaboration on Star Wars: Starfighter. The film is set for theaters in 2028.
- Star — Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider
- Director — Shawn Levy
- Format — Standalone MCU film (theatrical )
- Announcement — SDCC Hall H with Kevin Feige
- Release — 2028
The reveal landed as one of the weekend’s loudest moments and immediately set social feeds ablaze, the payoff to years of fan art, rumor cycles and wish lists that never really cooled off.
“Ghost Rider is a character I’ve wanted to play for a long time,”
Gosling told the crowd, putting an exclamation point on a casting he’s been linked to for years.
A casting years in the making
This wasn’t a bolt from the blue. Gosling had been openly game for the role and never ducked the fan campaign. Earlier this year, he nudged the speculation again while promoting Project Hail Mary, hinting that talks had been happening.
“Some discussions have been had. It ’s a complicated situation... We’ll keep hope alive,”
he said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast — a comment that sent the internet into overdrive at the time. Feige, for his part, had previously signaled he wanted to find a place for Gosling in the MCU, making Saturday’s moment feel like a long-simmering plan finally snapping into focus.
The character’s return marks Ghost Rider’s biggest live-action spotlight since Nicolas Cage lit the chain as Johnny Blaze in 2007’s Ghost Rider and its sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Now, Gosling gets the chance to redefine the Spirit of Vengeance inside Marvel Studios ’ connected universe.
Marvel has set the movie for a theatrical release in 2028.