Ryan Gosling Is Marvel's Ghost Rider in a New 2028 Movie Directed by Shawn Levy

Ryan Gosling is officially joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ghost Rider. Marvel Studios announced the project during its 2026 San Diego Comic-Con Hall H panel, confirming that Shawn Levy will direct and that the film is planned for an exclusive theatrical release in 2028.

The announcement turns years of fan casting and public interest from Gosling into an actual Marvel production. It also reunites the actor with Levy after Star Wars: Starfighter, which is scheduled for 2027. Marvel has not announced a specific 2028 release date, a writer or the rest of the cast.

Is Ryan Gosling playing Johnny Blaze?

Marvel described Gosling as the film's motorcycle-riding title hero but did not name the person behind the flaming skull. Johnny Blaze is the best-known Ghost Rider and the version Gosling has most often been linked to, but that does not make the identity official.

The distinction gives Marvel several options. Johnny Blaze is a stunt motorcyclist bound to the Spirit of Vengeance, while Danny Ketch and Robbie Reyes have carried the Ghost Rider name in different eras. Robbie already appeared in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., played by Gabriel Luna, but Marvel has not said whether the new film will acknowledge that story.

Until the studio names the character, the safest answer is that Gosling is Ghost Rider and Johnny Blaze remains the leading possibility, not a confirmed detail.

Why Shawn Levy is directing Ghost Rider

Levy most recently entered the MCU with Deadpool & Wolverine. His Ghost Rider appointment also grows directly out of his collaboration with Gosling on Star Wars: Starfighter. During the Hall H presentation, the pair explained that their conversations about the character developed while they were working together on that film.

Ghost Rider needs a different balance from a conventional Marvel hero. The character brings supernatural horror, demonic mythology and road-movie imagery into the MCU. Levy's challenge will be to preserve that edge while making the film accessible enough to launch a new theatrical franchise.

Where Ghost Rider could fit in the MCU

A 2028 release places Ghost Rider after Avengers: Doomsday and in the same year as Black Panther 3. Marvel has not announced whether the movie takes place before or after Avengers: Secret Wars, so any connection to the wider saga remains unconfirmed.

The project does give Marvel's supernatural corner a major new anchor. Doctor Strange, the Darkhold, Werewolf by Night and Blade-related mythology have established pieces of that world without yet bringing them together. Ghost Rider can connect those stories, but a standalone origin that defines the Spirit of Vengeance may be more important than an immediate crossover.

The character's power also comes with a built-in dramatic hook. Ghost Rider is not simply a suit or an alias; the human host has to negotiate with a force built around punishment. Gosling's best route into the role may therefore be less about visual transformation and more about the cost of sharing a body with something that judges everyone it meets.

What Marvel has confirmed about the Ghost Rider movie

The confirmed list is short but substantial: Ryan Gosling stars, Shawn Levy directs, Marvel Studios is producing and the movie is planned for theaters in 2028. Gosling has also made clear that he has wanted to play the character for years.

Marvel has not confirmed whether Gosling is Johnny Blaze, when filming begins, who is writing the screenplay or whether another Ghost Rider will appear. Those are the details to watch as the project moves from a Comic-Con reveal into production.