The spirit of vengeance lives! Ryan Gosling finally joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe at San Diego Comic-Con 2026.
Gosling, 45, made a surprise appearance at Marvel Studios’ Hall H panel on Saturday, July 25, to substantiate that he’ll star in a reboot of the Ghost Rider franchise. (Nicolas Cage previously played the character in two movies — 2007’s Ghost Rider and 2012’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance — that exist outside the MCU continuity.)
He’ll team up on a brand new Ghost Rider movie with Stranger Things director Shawn Levy, who previously worked with Marvel Studios on 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. (Gosling and Levy collaborated on the upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter.)
There was much more exciting news in regards to the way forward for the MCU beyond December’s Avengers: Doomsday and 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars, including an update on the long-awaited Black Panther III.
Keep scrolling for the largest news to come back out of Marvel Studios’ Hall H Panel
Ryan Gosling Will Star in ‘Ghost Rider’ Movie
Gosling surprised fans by showing up unannounced to Hall H to substantiate he’ll play the superhero Ghost Rider in a 2028 reboot directed by Deadpool & Wolverine’s Levy.
The Project Hail Mary actor has publicly campaigned for the Ghost Rider role prior to now — revealing to the “Joyful Sad Confused” podcast all the way in which back in 2022 that he’d discussed the part with Marvel Studios.
Throughout the Hall H panel, Gosling described Ghost Rider as “a personality I’ve desired to play for a very long time.”
For his part, Levy praised Gosling through the Comic-Con panel as “absolutely the s***t” and promised Ghost Rider might be definitely worth the wait for fans.
Ryan Gosling attends the Marvel panel during Comic-Con International. Getty Images/Chris DELMAS / AFP
“Let’s ride, we’ll see you in 2028,” the filmmaker teased.
Ghost Rider is an antihero who first appeared within the pages of Marvel Comics in 1972 when Johnny Blaze, the primary incarnation of the hero, sold his soul to the demon Mephisto to save lots of his foster father’s life. After Blaze’s head was mystically transformed right into a fiery skull, Ghost Rider jumped on his signature black motorcycle to wreak havoc on the underworld.
There have been other incarnations of Ghost Rider throughout the a long time — including highschool student Robbie Reyes, who was played by Gabriel Luna in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show.
Gosling’s longtime partner, Eva Mendes, starred in Cage’s 2007 version of Ghost Rider.
‘Black Panther 3’ Will Star Industry’s David Johnson
Acclaimed filmmaker Ryan Coogler announced through the Hall H panel that he’ll return to write down and direct Black Panther III.
Coogler and Marvel Studios chief creative officer Kevin Feige welcomed Industry and The Long Walk actor David Jonsson to the stage to substantiate that he’ll lead Black Panther III.
Jonsson is anticipated to play T’Challa II, the son of the late Chadwick Boseman’s iconic Black Panther. The character was teased at the top of 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Eternally when Shuri (Letitia Wright) discovered that T’Challa and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) secretly welcomed a son named Toussaint. (Boseman died in 2020.)
Letitia Wright, David Jonsson and Winston Duke speak onstage through the Marvel Studios Panel. Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney
“I need to say thanks a lot,” Jonsson said in Hall H. “Thanks, Ryan. Thanks, Kevin. Thanks to this amazing family that I honor. [It’s] a privilege and blessing to affix.”
He went on, “I don’t wish to say an excessive amount of because I need to let the screen do the talking, but consider me, the dignity is entirely mine.”
Black Panther III is anticipated to premiere in 2028.
‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Unveiled a Returning Star and Recent Footage
Some exciting casting news kicked off the Avengers: Doomsday portion of Marvel Studios’ presentation, as Hayley Atwell was confirmed to reprise her role as Peggy Carter opposite Chris Evans’ previously-announced Steve Rogers / Captain America.
Ryan Reynolds also made a surprise appearance through the panel as Deadpool’s denim alter-ego, Jeanpool, to beg for a cameo in Avengers: Doomsday. It stays to be seen whether the Merc With a Mouth will pop up in December’s blockbuster.
Fresh off the debut of the prolonged trailer for Avengers: Doomsday on Monday, July 20, fans in Hall H got an exclusive sneak peek at brand recent footage on Saturday.
Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool cosplay at Comic-Con. Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney
Per Variety, the brand new clip focuses heavily on Robert Downey Jr.’s villainous Dr. Doom sitting on his throne in Latveria as various clips of the MCU heroes in battle are interspersed.
Incredible 4 member Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) provides some background on Doom, describing him as “broken as an individual.”
“He’s all the time the neatest guy in every world. He was different. He was kind, he was caring … All the things he loved was taken from him,” she explains. “I knew he was lost but I didn’t realize that he was broken.”
The footage climaxes with Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) questioning whether Doom might be accountable for mass carnage across Earth.
“All of you’ve gotten lived stolen lives. You refuse to present them back,” Doom snarls.
When Thor (Chris Hemsworth) wields his trusty hammer Mjolnir against Doom, he’s quickly brushed off because the villain unleashes a military of Sentinels from the X-Men universe to fight Earth’s mightiest heroes.
While the trailer was a convention-exclusive, Marvel Studios publicly shared a brand new Avengers: Doomsday poster featuring Downey as Doom.
“Decisions may have to be made, you’ll should be on the side of the great guys, otherwise you’ll have to think about the choice [by] joining a family of Doom,” Downey teased through the panel. “Come over to the green side.”
Avengers: Doomsday opens December 18 and might be followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on December 17, 2027.