After years of publicly expressing interest in the role, Ryan Gosling has officially been cast as Marvel’s Spirit of Vengeance.

Ryan Gosling Joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced Gosling’s casting during the studio’s Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, July 25. Gosling will portray Johnny Blaze in a new standalone Ghost Rider film directed by Deadpool & Wolverine filmmaker Shawn Levy.

The film is currently planned for release in 2028, though Marvel Studios has not announced an exact date. No additional cast members or production schedule were revealed during the presentation. Marvel subsequently confirmed the project and its principal creative team.

Gosling’s involvement had been rumored for more than a year. Journalist Josh Horowitz previously questioned Feige about why the actor had not yet been cast as Ghost Rider. Horowitz revisited the question from the audience during the Comic-Con presentation, prompting Feige to bring Gosling onto the Hall H stage.

“As you know, this is a character I’ve wanted to play for a very long time. So, Kevin, Josh Horowitz, Hall H, thank you,” Gosling told the crowd.

Gosling’s interest in Ghost Rider dates back to at least 2022, when he named the Spirit of Vengeance as the one superhero he wanted to play. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige responded enthusiastically at the time, saying he would “love to find a place for him in the MCU.” The possibility remained active for several years, and in March 2026, Gosling confirmed that “some discussions have been had,” although he described the situation as complicated. When asked why he felt drawn specifically to Ghost Rider, Gosling simply answered, “Just a feeling.”

The project will reunite Gosling and Levy after their work on the upcoming Lucasfilm movie Star Wars: Starfighter. Levy said the two discussed Ghost Rider while filming that project and continued developing ideas for a possible adaptation.

Levy recalled that their conversations eventually reached the point where he told Gosling, “Bro, let’s ride.” The director concluded his portion of the announcement by telling the audience that they would see the film in 2028. Levy previously entered the MCU with 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, which brought Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine into a Marvel Studios production.

Access Hollywood shared a Reel of the full announcement on Instagram, which you can check out below:

Created by writer Gary Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog, Johnny Blaze debuted in 1972’s Marvel Spotlight #5. Blaze is a motorcycle stunt performer who makes a supernatural bargain and becomes bonded with the demon Zarathos. He transforms into the flaming-skulled Ghost Rider, a powerful supernatural figure also known as the Spirit of Vengeance.

Several characters have carried the Ghost Rider mantle in Marvel Comics, including Danny Ketch and Robbie Reyes. Gabriel Luna portrayed Reyes in the fourth season of ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but Gosling’s film will be the character’s first standalone theatrical production from Marvel Studios.

Nicolas Cage previously portrayed Johnny Blaze in two Ghost Rider films produced and distributed by Sony’s Columbia Pictures. The first, Ghost Rider, was released in 2007 and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. It followed Blaze’s transformation and battle against Blackheart, played by Wes Bentley. The cast also included Eva Mendes – Gosling’s longtime partner – as Blaze’s childhood sweetheart Roxanne Simpson and Peter Fonda as Mephistopheles.

Cage returned for Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which opened in 2012. Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the sequel relocated the story to Eastern Europe and followed Blaze as he attempted to protect a child from the Devil.

Neither Cage film was part of the MCU, which began with Iron Man in 2008. Gosling’s casting therefore represents a fresh take on Johnny Blaze rather than a direct continuation of Cage’s movies.

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