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.