The Spirit of Vengeance just got a movie star. At Marvel Studios' Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Kevin Feige brought Ryan Gosling on stage and confirmed he will play Ghost Rider in a stand-alone MCU film. Shawn Levy directs. Theatrical window: 2028.
Who is directing Ghost Rider
Levy already delivered Marvel's biggest R-rated swing with Deadpool & Wolverine, which cleared $1.33 billion worldwide. He and Gosling are also deep in Star Wars: Starfighter for Lucasfilm, dated for May 2027. So this is not a cold pairing. Marvel is handing Ghost Rider to a director who already proved he can sell chaos at scale, with an actor he already trusts.
Ryan Gosling and the Johnny Blaze chase
Gosling has been open about wanting Johnny Blaze, the stuntman who makes a deal with Mephisto and becomes the flaming-skull Spirit of Vengeance. During the Project Hail Mary press run earlier this year he said discussions with Marvel had happened, and that the situation was complicated. Feige, years earlier, had already floated that if Gosling wanted Ghost Rider, Marvel would love to find a place for him. Hall H closed that loop.
Johnny Blaze dates to Marvel Spotlight #5 in 1972. Chains, hellfire bike, judgment on sinners. That is the version most people mean when they say Ghost Rider, and the version Nicolas Cage played in the 2007 and 2011 Sony films. Eva Mendes, Gosling's partner, starred in the first Cage movie. Weird full-circle trivia, not a plot point.
Has Ghost Rider been in the MCU before
Yes, in television continuity. Gabriel Luna played Robbie Reyes in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4. That Ghost Rider is a different host from a different comic era. Whether Luna's version survives the Multiverse Saga reset after Secret Wars is an open question. Marvel sold Hall H on a new feature, not a soft reboot press note.
Mephisto also matters here. Sacha Baron Cohen debuted the character in Ironheart. Ghost Rider stories usually orbit that deal-with-the-devil machinery, so a feature is a natural place for Mephisto to keep teeth. Marvel did not put Cohen on the Hall H stage for this announcement. Treat the connection as story logic, not casting confirmation.
What we know vs what we do not
Locked: Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider
Locked: Shawn Levy directing
Locked: Theatrical release in 2028
Locked: Solo film, not announced as Midnight Sons
Unclear: Johnny Blaze vs Danny Ketch identity inside the skull
Unclear: How Robbie Reyes and Mephisto fit after Secret Wars
Where this sits on the calendar
2028 is stacking for Marvel: Gosling's Ghost Rider plus Black Panther 3 on December 15, 2028. Before that you still have Avengers: Doomsday (December 18, 2026) and Secret Wars (December 17, 2027).
Full Hall H board: Marvel Studios Hall H announcements. Follow the Ghost Rider hub and the Movies feed for the first look.