16 Years After Original Film, Marvel Officially Recasts Iconic Anti-Hero With A-List Actor

Marvel has spent years hearing Ryan Gosling’s name connected to a popular anti-hero. Now, the fan casting has become official.

Marvel Studios confirmed that Gosling will play Johnny Blaze in a standalone Ghost Rider film planned for 2028. The announcement puts one of Hollywood’s biggest names behind the Spirit of Vengeance and brings Johnny Blaze back to theaters years after Nicolas Cage last played the character.

For Gosling, it’s also the payoff to a Marvel role he has openly wanted since 2022.

Ryan Gosling Lands His Longtime Marvel Role

Kevin Feige confirmed Gosling’s casting during Marvel Studios’ Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, July 25.

Gosling will lead Ghost Rider (2028), with Shawn Levy directing. Marvel hasn’t announced an exact release date, additional cast members, or when production will begin.

The casting immediately gives Marvel another major star for its future lineup. More importantly, it finally answers a question that has followed Gosling for several years.

Would Marvel actually let him play Ghost Rider?

The answer is officially yes.

Gosling Started Pushing for Ghost Rider in 2022

Gosling’s path to Johnny Blaze began in public four years before Marvel announced it.

During a 2022 conversation with journalist Josh Horowitz, Gosling named Ghost Rider as the superhero he wanted to play. Horowitz took the idea to Feige, who responded that he would “love to find a place” for Gosling in the MCU.

That possibility stayed alive.

At Marvel’s 2026 Comic-Con presentation, Feige called attention to Horowitz in the audience. Horowitz again asked about Gosling, and Marvel followed by bringing the actor onto the Hall H stage with the sound of a revving engine.

Gosling thanked Horowitz, Feige, and the audience while confirming that discussions had taken place behind the scenes.

As for why Ghost Rider appealed to him so much, Gosling offered a short explanation: “Just a feeling.”

Shawn Levy Is Joining Gosling for the Ride

Gosling’s new Marvel project also reunites him with a familiar director.

Shawn Levy and Gosling worked together on Lucasfilm’s upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter. According to Levy, the two started discussing Ghost Rider while working on that movie and eventually began developing ideas for their own version of Johnny Blaze.

At one point, Levy told Gosling, “Bro, let’s ride.”

Levy already knows his way around the MCU. He directed Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), bringing Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine together in a Marvel Studios production.

With Ghost Rider (2028), Levy gets the chance to explore a much darker and more supernatural character.

Nicolas Cage Previously Brought Johnny Blaze to Theaters

Of course, Gosling isn’t the first actor to play Johnny Blaze.

Nicolas Cage starred in Ghost Rider (2007), which followed Blaze’s transformation into the Spirit of Vengeance and his fight against Blackheart. Mark Steven Johnson directed the movie, with Wes Bentley playing Blackheart and Peter Fonda appearing as Mephistopheles.

Eva Mendes played Roxanne Simpson, creating an unusual connection to Marvel’s new version since Mendes is Gosling’s longtime partner.

Cage returned for Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012). That sequel moved the action to Eastern Europe, where Blaze attempted to protect a child from the Devil.

Neither movie was part of the MCU, which launched with Iron Man (2008).

Other characters have also carried the Ghost Rider mantle. Marvel Comics has featured Danny Ketch and Robbie Reyes, while Gabriel Luna portrayed Reyes during the fourth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Marvel, however, is returning to Johnny Blaze for Gosling’s movie.

Ghost Rider Opens Another Corner of the MCU

Bringing Johnny Blaze into the MCU creates possibilities beyond one standalone film.

Ghost Rider naturally fits into Marvel’s supernatural world, giving the studio another anti-hero who doesn’t necessarily operate like a traditional Avenger. Marvel could use Ghost Rider (2028) to establish that darker corner before eventually connecting Blaze with other supernatural characters.

Gosling’s star power also makes him an actor Marvel could potentially build around for multiple appearances.

For now, those future plans remain unknown.

What Marvel has confirmed is already significant. Gosling finally has the superhero role he’s wanted for years, Levy has another MCU project after Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), and Johnny Blaze is heading back to theaters.

The Spirit of Vengeance has a new face, and this time, Ghost Rider will officially be part of the MCU.