Marvel has confirmed Ryan Gosling will play Ghost Rider in a new film arriving in 2028.
Ryan Gosling is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At Marvel Studios’ Hall H panel during San Diego Comic-Con on July 25, 2026, studio president Kevin Feige announced that a new Ghost Rider film is in development, with Gosling in the title role and a theatrical release planned for 2028. The reveal drew one of the loudest reactions of the convention, a fan event where studios often unveil their biggest upcoming projects.
Feige teed up the moment by nodding to years of fan speculation about the character, telling the crowd the studio keeps secrets to preserve surprises. He then brought Gosling on stage, where the actor was met with loud cheers. Gosling told the audience the reaction was surreal and said Ghost Rider was a character he had wanted to play for a long time. He then welcomed director Shawn Levy to the stage, saying only one filmmaker could bring the project to life.
The casting caps a long back-and-forth between Gosling and Marvel. The actor had spoken publicly for years about his interest in the role, and Feige had previously expressed enthusiasm about finding a place for him in the studio’s lineup. The Comic-Con announcement turned that speculation into an official project with a director, a star, and a release window attached.
Who Ghost Rider Is in Marvel Comics
Ghost Rider is one of Marvel’s supernatural characters, best known for his flaming skull and his motorcycle. In the comics, the version most associated with the name is Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stuntman who becomes a supernatural figure known as the Spirit of Vengeance. The character has a long history in Marvel’s pages, with the Johnny Blaze incarnation debuting in the early 1970s.
The character has reached the screen before. Nicolas Cage played Johnny Blaze in two films released by Sony, the first in 2007 and a sequel, “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,” in 2012. A different version of the character, Robbie Reyes, later appeared in the television series “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” played by Gabriel Luna. The new film marks the first time Ghost Rider will feature in a Marvel Studios production within the wider cinematic universe.
Gosling’s casting continues a busy stretch of high-profile work. He recently starred in the science fiction film “Project Hail Mary,” an adaptation from Amazon MGM Studios that reached theaters earlier in the year and pulled in strong numbers at the global box office. Before that, his turn as Ken in “Barbie” drew wide attention and reintroduced him to a mainstream audience at the height of that film’s success.
His schedule ahead is already full. Gosling is set to lead “Star Wars: Starfighter,” which is scheduled for release on May 28, 2027. That film pairs him with Shawn Levy, and the two have said they traded ideas for Ghost Rider during downtime on the “Starfighter” shoot before deciding to move ahead with it. The overlap between the two projects reportedly played a part in the actor’s recent scheduling decisions, with Ghost Rider now slotted into his lineup after the “Star Wars” release.
Levy is an established name at Marvel, having directed “Deadpool & Wolverine.” On the Comic-Con stage, he described how the Ghost Rider project came together, telling the crowd that he and Gosling had riffed on the character while working together before committing to the film. Their existing partnership means the two will have moved from “Star Wars” directly into Marvel territory.
What the Comic-Con Announcement Included
The Ghost Rider reveal was part of a broader Marvel presentation at this year’s convention. The studio used its panel to lay out a slate of upcoming projects, including material tied to its ensemble Avengers films and a new Black Panther chapter, giving fans a wider look at the direction of its future releases. The Ghost Rider news stood out as one of the headline moments of the panel.
Concrete details beyond the core announcement remain limited. Marvel has confirmed Gosling as the lead, Levy as director, and 2028 as the target year, but has not released information such as plot specifics or the full supporting cast. As with most projects unveiled this far ahead, further details are expected to emerge as the film moves into production.
The 2028 release places Ghost Rider among the studio’s longer-term plans, arriving after several other titles already on the calendar. What Comic-Con delivered was the confirmation fans had been asking about for years: Ryan Gosling in the role, a director attached, and a place on Marvel’s upcoming schedule.
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