Ghost Rider Starring Ryan Gosling Announced At Comic-Con - Director And Release Year Revealed

The rumours were true, as Marvel Studios has officially announced that Ghost Rider will rev into theaters in 2028, with Ryan Gosling set to play the MCU's new Spirit of Vengeance.

News

By JoshWilding - Jul 25, 2026 09:07 PM EST

Filed Under: Ghost Rider

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige welcomed Ryan Gosling and Shawn Levy to the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con to confirm they will reunite for Ghost Rider.

Levy previously directed Deadpool & Wolverine for Marvel Studios and has worked with Gosling on the upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter. Their reunion will finally bring the Spirit of Vengeance into the MCU, not in a Midnight Sons movie as many fans expected, but a solo project that's set for a 2028 release. Jonathan Tropper (Star Wars: Starfighter) is writing the script.

No plot details have been revealed, but Gosling lends some serious star power to a project that will clearly be a big part of Marvel Studios' next Saga.

Nicolas Cage played Johnny Blaze in 2007's Ghost Rider and reprised the role in 2012's Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Neither film made much of an impact either critically or commercially, and the rights eventually reverted to Marvel Studios from Sony Pictures.

This has been a long time coming, both in terms of Ghost Rider's MCU debut—outside of Robbie Reyes' role in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.—and Gosling playing him.

The actor has expressed interest in a possible superhero movie role and, more specifically, the Spirit of Vengeance, on a few occasions.

Feige has even given the Project Hail Mary star his seal of approval, saying, "Hey man, if Ryan wants to be Ghost Rider...Gosling’s unbelievable. Ryan is amazing. I'd love to find a place for him in the MCU."

Promoting Project Hail Mary earlier this year, the actor was asked whether he's being lined up to play the Spirit of Vengeance and broke his silence on the persistent rumours. "I don't know what to say. We keep hope alive," Gosling teased. "Some discussions have been had. It's a complicated situation."

When Horowitz pointed out that Gosling's wife, Eva Mendez, starred in 2007's Ghost Rider opposite Nic Cage, the actor jokingly replied, "I'm just happy one of us got to do it." Later admitting that he wasn't a comic book reader as a kid, Gosling said that the reason he was drawn to Ghost Rider was "just a feeling."

If you missed it in our live blog, watch the moment that Gosling was revealed as the MCU's Ghost Rider below.

Just announced in Hall H:

Ryan Gosling joins the MCU in Marvel Studios' Ghost Rider, directed by Shawn Levy. Only in theaters 2028. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/WpmwsylkjR
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) July 26, 2026

Ghost Rider enters the MCU 🔥

Ryan Gosling will star in Marvel Studios' Ghost Rider, directed by Shawn Levy. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/MR2HJww2Wg
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 26, 2026

About The Author:

JoshWilding
Member Since 3/13/2009

A lifelong comic book fan who grew up on Spider-Man: The Animated Series in the '90s, Josh Wilding has been contributing to ComicBookMovie.com since 2009.

While he's also written for websites like Batman-News, HeyUGuys, and WhatCulture, Josh is CBM's Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and the site's #1 contributor with nearly two decades of experience covering film and TV news (including interviews with Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Gary Oldman, Halle Berry, Jon Bernthal, Tom Welling, and hundreds more).

Based in the UK with his wife, Josh is also an avid WWE and Formula 1 fan and writes about those passions on CBM's sister sites, TheRingReport.com and FullThrottleHQ.com. Favourite superhero? Spider-Man. Favourite pro wrestler? CM Punk. Favourite F1 driver? Max Verstappen.

Rumor: Ryan Gosling Will Be Officially Announced As Ghost Rider During Marvel's SDCC Panel

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42 Comments

1 2

Malatrova15 - 7/25/2026, 9:49 PM

Like Blade this will debut in 2050 ..after the fourth Trump period

Sector7 - 7/25/2026, 9:54 PM

@Malatrova15 -
Yeah,Right.
By Then He'll Dead During The Female President Second Year In Office During The Great Rebuild.

Malatrova15 - 7/25/2026, 10:05 PM

@Sector7 - female president? Not if Kamala "Big Abdul" Harris runs again.

Hobmoblin - 7/25/2026, 10:36 PM

@Malatrova15 - political humor. An attempt at humor making president jokes? Just like Colbert

vectorsigma - 7/25/2026, 9:50 PM

Good casting.

But marvel will will still stick to their method of soundstage heavy shooting so what's the use 🤷‍♂️

LucasUnger - 7/25/2026, 9:50 PM

Finally a Ghost Rider movie not with Nicolas Cage.

Hobmoblin - 7/25/2026, 10:38 PM

@LucasUnger - I was hoping he'd be in Secret Wars. They're in a room and wolverines trying to get in with his claws. "Ghost Rider, where's Wolverine at?"

cubrn - 7/25/2026, 9:51 PM

Let’s effing go.

Scarilian - 7/25/2026, 9:51 PM

If it's as ugly looking as Avengers: Doomsday then I don't want it. Shawn Levy is more miss than hit. Not really sure why they think people will stick around after you slaughter characters they like prior.

EskimoJ - 7/25/2026, 9:54 PM

@Scarilian - I mean, you're still here, so clearly people will stick around.

Scarilian - 7/25/2026, 9:57 PM

@EskimoJ -
I enjoy analytical breakdowns of media and the decisions behind it, whether the media is good or bad, this time I know that it's fricked so I'm seeing the failures in decision making in real time.

dragon316 - 7/25/2026, 9:59 PM

@Scarilian - according to fans marvel is perfect in every way bad goood choices they make

TheVisionary25 - 7/25/2026, 9:52 PM

It’s a great reveal , just sucks it was leaked hours before the panel…

I’m sure some are gonna hate the Shawn Levy choice and i personally think he’s a somewhat odd pick for the film but it seems like going by what was apparently said on stage , it was Ryan that told him about the project & brought him on which atleast means both had a good time working with each other on Star Wars:Starfighter.

Anyway , the GOS is gonna be great!!.

LukeCage2155 - 7/25/2026, 9:52 PM

Hell yeah!!!

XelCorp - 7/25/2026, 9:54 PM

Show that poster of Doom already. Shit goes hard

OneMoreTime - 7/25/2026, 9:54 PM

Ghost Rider Starring Ryan Gosling Announced

Irregular - 7/25/2026, 9:55 PM

Damn him and his wife can now say they've been in a Ghost Rider movie lmao.

vectorsigma - 7/25/2026, 9:56 PM

D&W was very pathetic. Levy is not a good director.

Marvel now has a very short list of directors. The Russos, Schrier, Cretton, Levy.

Only Cretton seems deserving with what I see for BND. Schrieris good but not for xmen. His style is indie driven so you cant have your next big ip be handled like that

WE NEED JOSS WHEDON BACK

Scarilian - 7/25/2026, 9:59 PM

@vectorsigma -
It really is a situation of who can we grab that's been in popular movies lately... the guy from The Long Walk, the guy from Project Hail Mary who is also doing a Star Wars movie, the director from Deadpool & Wolverine who is also doing a Star Wars movie.

FireGunn - 7/25/2026, 10:12 PM

@vectorsigma - Joss Whedon is an abusive hack. Move on already

SurfinSuperman - 7/25/2026, 10:37 PM

@vectorsigma - He's not a good director to you. But you are in the minority. And that's fine. But objectively, Levy's movies, at least in the past decade, have been pretty well received and very successful.

newhire13 - 7/25/2026, 11:07 PM

@vectorsigma - Why? So he can do another “Oh look, I awkwardly landed into her cleavage!” joke? No thanks.

Lucasberg - 7/25/2026, 11:27 PM

@FireGunn - like him or not the entire Marvel cinematic universe was given life by Whedon’s first Avengers movie. He packed so many tricks into that movie storytelling wise, that literally everything that followed through Endgame had him as its source. The subsequent Marvel phases post endgame have largely failed because they no longer had that thing from Whedon that Marvel lived off of since Avengers 1. Thus, the best Marvel has had since then has been sort of greatest hits montages and reunion romps instead of the outgrowth of Whedon’s tree planted in Avengers 1.

Yes of course Whedon was the wrong guy for JLA and he ruined that movie. Hes failed before but he’s also a true comic nerd and writer and it’s thanks to him that the MCU succeeded until relatively recently.

Regarding the allegations against him, they might be true but that’s kind of beside the point regarding his CBMs.

MrDandy - 7/25/2026, 10:00 PM

Love they are finally getting to Ghost Rider and the pick, but the director is a bit uninspired. I don’t hate Shawn Levy as a director and he has made stuff I have enjoyed, but he is the definition of a hired gun.

harryba11zack - 7/25/2026, 10:01 PM

butt.....he doesn't ride, he drives

WeaponXCII - 7/25/2026, 10:02 PM

Cool. Hopefully we can get at least a couple of movies out of him.

TheGhostRider - 7/25/2026, 10:04 PM

Hell yes!

ThorArms - 7/25/2026, 10:10 PM

That’ll be cool

FireGunn - 7/25/2026, 10:12 PM

"Shawn Levy"

Slop of Doom incoming

Reboot the MCU and DCU

MisterBones - 7/25/2026, 10:13 PM

Shawn Levy…

YesChefC - 7/25/2026, 10:20 PM

Love this! Let's gooooo! 🤘

asherman93 - 7/25/2026, 10:25 PM

So is he playing Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch? Will we see Gabriel Luna appear as Robbie?

TheVisionary25 - 7/25/2026, 10:47 PM

@asherman93 - most likely Johnny Blaze.

Ha1frican - 7/25/2026, 10:25 PM

Shawn Levy? I dont know man ill hope for the best but even as someone who really likes Deadpool and Wolverine that worries me a lot.

BiffDitko - 7/25/2026, 10:27 PM

?is=0BhGTnIxokEh--E9

BiffDitko - 7/25/2026, 10:31 PM

I hope they do something bold and set this movie in the mid 1970's. Use that Evel Kineval vibe that Ghost Rider was cashing in on in the first place. I wanna see Gosling with some SERIOUS sideburns wearing that blue jumpsuit!
This has some great potential.

bobevanz - 7/25/2026, 10:28 PM

Shawn Levy is a perfect Hired Hand who probably comes in under budget and on time so that's why they picked him. Don't forget they already have probably half the movie already done in previs and they're going to hire a writer soon to stich it all together and make it make sense

SurfinSuperman - 7/25/2026, 10:40 PM

@bobevanz - They picked him because he delivered them the most successful R rated movie ever made.

Gambito - 7/25/2026, 10:30 PM

Now don’t trash the other 2 films for all their faults they were actually decent hits financially speaking considering it was both pre-MCU, both released in difficult months and with poor critical reaction. They wouldn’t be doing a new movie unless his commercial appeal was already tested same thing with Blade.
Huge fan of those movies btw

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Ghost Rider Starring Ryan Gosling Announced At Comic-Con - Director And Release Year Revealed

The rumours were true, as Marvel Studios has officially announced that Ghost Rider will rev into theaters in 2028, with Ryan Gosling set to play the MCU's new Spirit of Vengeance.

Rumor: Ryan Gosling Will Be Officially Announced As Ghost Rider During Marvel's SDCC Panel

PROJECT HAIL MARY Star Ryan Gosling Breaks Silence On GHOST RIDER Rumors: "It's A Complicated Situation"

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