On the screeching tires of yesterday's rumor that Marvel Studios has major plans for Ghost Rider beyond the (still not officially announced) Midnight Sons movie, we may know when the studio is planning to introduce the Marvel Cinematic Universe's new Spirit of Vengeance.
Just in case this is something Marvel would rather keep as a surprise, here's your (possible) spoiler warning.
According to Nexus Point News' Apocalyptic Horseman - who has broken a number of major stories before the trades over the last few months - Ghost Rider will make his debut "in a big way" in Avengers: Doomsday.
He doesn't know which incarnation of the character - Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch or Robbie Reyes (there are also several other possibilities) - they'll go with, but seems pretty confident that a new take on the flame-headed hero is on the way.
In addition to a brand-new version of Ghost Rider, there's talk of Nicolas Cage reprising his role as Johnny Blaze from the 20th Century Fox era movies. Cage was asked to return for Deadpool and Wolverine, but declined the offer (likely due to a scheduling conflict).
Doomsday plot rumors continue to swirl, and some believe that the plan is for a new team of Earth's Mightiest Heroes to assemble to do battle with evil variants of the original six Avengers. This is probably more speculation than anything else, although Chris Evans will be back (as Steve Rogers, not Johnny Storm), and we recently heard that Scarlett Johansson will also return as Black Widow despite Natasha Romanoff being killed off in Avengers: Endgame.
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on May 1, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027. Both films will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
Have another look at some photos Downey Jr. shared to Instagram after the big reveal below.