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Credit: Gage Skidmore, FlickrMarvel Studios has finally found its next Ghost Rider, and the Spirit of Vengeance is getting one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
After years of speculation, fan casting, and public interest from the actor himself, Marvel has officially cast a new Johnny Blaze for the MCU. The character will lead a standalone Ghost Rider film currently planned for 2028, bringing the supernatural anti-hero back to theaters 16 years after his last solo movie.
Marvel announced during San Diego Comic-Con, confirming a major new addition to its future movie lineup.
And the actor behind the flaming skull has been asking for this opportunity for years.
Ryan Gosling Is Officially Marvel’s New Ghost Rider
Ryan Gosling has officially landed the role of Johnny Blaze.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced the casting during Marvel’s Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, July 25. Gosling will headline a new Ghost Rider film directed by Shawn Levy, who previously directed Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
Marvel currently plans to release the movie sometime in 2028, although the studio hasn’t announced a specific date. Marvel also hasn’t revealed the rest of the cast or when cameras will begin rolling.
Still, Gosling’s casting gives Marvel another major Hollywood name as the MCU moves deeper into its next era.
It also ends years of questions about whether Gosling’s very public interest in Ghost Rider would ever actually lead anywhere.
Gosling Has Wanted Ghost Rider for Years
This casting didn’t come out of nowhere.
Gosling first told journalist Josh Horowitz back in 2022 that Ghost Rider was the one superhero he wanted to play. Horowitz immediately passed the idea to Kevin Feige, who said he’d “love to find a place” for Gosling in the MCU.
Fast forward to the 2026 Comic-Con panel: Feige kicked off the reveal with a pre-planned call-out to Horowitz in the audience. When Horowitz asked about Gosling’s status, Feige brought the actor right onto the Hall H stage to the sound of a revving engine.
Gosling thanked Feige, Horowitz, and the crowd, confirming that talks had been quietly happening behind the scenes. Asked why he wanted to play the Spirit of Vengeance in the first place, Gosling kept it simple: “Just a feeling.”
That feeling has now turned into his next major franchise role.
Shawn Levy Will Bring Ghost Rider Back to Theaters
Gosling won’t be entering the MCU alone.
The project will reunite him with Shawn Levy following their work together on Lucasfilm’s upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter. According to Levy, conversations about Ghost Rider started while they were making that film.
Those discussions eventually became serious enough for the pair to begin developing ideas about what their version of Johnny Blaze could look like.
Levy recalled eventually telling Gosling, “Bro, let’s ride.”
Now they will.
Levy already has experience handling major Marvel characters after directing Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), which brought Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine into a Marvel Studios movie.
Ghost Rider, however, gives Levy and Gosling a very different corner of the Marvel universe to explore.
And they’ll also be following an earlier version of Johnny Blaze that many moviegoers still remember.
Nicolas Cage Last Played Johnny Blaze 16 Years Earlier
Ghost Rider has taken several forms throughout Marvel Comics history. Danny Ketch and Robbie Reyes have both carried the mantle, while Gabriel Luna played Reyes during the fourth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
But Johnny Blaze remains the version most closely associated with Ghost Rider on the big screen.
Nicolas Cage first played Blaze in Ghost Rider (2007), directed by Mark Steven Johnson. The movie followed Blaze as he transformed into Ghost Rider and faced Blackheart, played by Wes Bentley.
The cast also included Peter Fonda as Mephistopheles and Eva Mendes as Roxanne Simpson. Mendes, of course, is Gosling’s longtime partner, creating an interesting connection between the previous Ghost Rider franchise and Marvel’s upcoming reboot.
Cage returned in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012). That movie sent Blaze to Eastern Europe and centered its story around his attempt to protect a child from the Devil.
Neither film belonged to the MCU, which officially launched with Iron Man (2008).
With Gosling taking over in 2028, Marvel isn’t continuing Cage’s story. Instead, the studio has an opportunity to reinvent Johnny Blaze for its connected universe completely.
Ghost Rider Could Become Important to Marvel’s Next Phase
Gosling joining the MCU also raises a much bigger question: What does Marvel plan to do with Ghost Rider beyond one movie?
Johnny Blaze opens the door to the supernatural side of Marvel in a way few other characters can. Ghost Rider’s darker stories could naturally place him alongside heroes and anti-heroes who don’t fit neatly into the Avengers’ traditional world.
Marvel could use his standalone movie to establish that corner of the MCU before eventually bringing him into crossovers with other supernatural characters.
Gosling also gives Marvel an established A-lister who can potentially carry Ghost Rider through multiple projects. After years of introducing new heroes and passing familiar mantles to new characters, adding a recognizable star as Johnny Blaze could make the 2028 movie one of the more intriguing pieces of Marvel’s upcoming slate.
Exactly where Ghost Rider fits remains unknown.
But Marvel finally has its Spirit of Vengeance.
Ghost Rider Is Finally Riding Into the MCU
It took years of Gosling publicly campaigning for the role, but Marvel finally made it happen.
Seventeen years after Nicolas Cage’s final appearance as Johnny Blaze, Ghost Rider will return to theaters with a new actor, a new director, and a place inside Marvel Studios’ larger universe.
There are still plenty of unanswered questions about the 2028 movie, including its supporting cast, story, production timeline, and how deeply it will connect to the rest of the MCU.
For now, Marvel has delivered the biggest piece of the puzzle.
Ryan Gosling is officially the new Ghost Rider, and one of Marvel’s most recognizable anti-heroes is finally getting another chance on the big screen.
