Marvel reveals Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider at Comic-Con
Marvel reveals Ryan Gosling as the next Ghost Rider and David Jonsson as the new Black Panther in twin casting bombshells at San Diego Comic-Con. Gosling will lead a standalone Ghost Rider film set for 2028, while Jonsson inherits the mantle in Black Panther 3, also due in 2028.
Key Takeaways
- Marvel Studios unveiled Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider during its San Diego Comic-Con presentation on Saturday.
- Gosling will star in a standalone Ghost Rider movie scheduled for release in 2028.
- Shawn Levy is directing the film, reuniting with Gosling and writer Jonathan Tropper after Star Wars: Starfighter.
- David Jonsson will play an adult version of T'Challa's son as Black Panther in Black Panther 3.
- Director Ryan Coogler said Black Panther 3 will hit theaters on Dec. 15, 2028.
What did Marvel announce at Comic-Con?
According to Page Six, Marvel Studios dropped two casting bombshells at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday: Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider and David Jonsson as the new Black Panther.
Gosling, 45, the three-time Oscar nominee known for Barbie and La La Land, will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a standalone Ghost Rider movie set for 2028. Jonsson, 32, the breakout star of Alien: Romulus, was unveiled for Black Panther 3 in a separate Hall H moment that drew Wakanda chants from the crowd.
Both reveals came during Marvel's Comic-Con presentation, pairing a new Ghost Rider lead with a new Black Panther successor for films planned later this decade.
Why does Ryan Gosling's Ghost Rider casting matter?
"As you know, this is a character I've wanted to play for a long time," Gosling told the crowd after being unveiled to thunderous cheers inside Hall H.
The Ghost Rider film reunites Gosling with director Shawn Levy and writer Jonathan Tropper after their upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter project. Levy, who also directed the blockbuster Deadpool & Wolverine, told fans he was having "the greatest flashback vibes" from being on the same stage two years earlier for that film.
Levy said the opportunity grew as Gosling talked about the character, adding that audiences will see them in 2028. Nicolas Cage famously played motorcycle stuntman Johnny Blaze in 2007's Ghost Rider and returned for 2011's Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Gosling's longtime partner, Eva Mendes, starred opposite Cage as Roxanne Simpson in the original movie; it is not yet known whether she will reprise the role.
Who is David Jonsson playing in Black Panther 3?
Jonsson will play an adult version of T'Challa's son and inherit the Black Panther mantle. The character was introduced in the closing moments of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which revealed that the late Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa had a young son with Nakia, played by Lupita Nyong'o.
Boseman, who was set to reprise his role in a planned sequel before his death, died in 2020 at age 43 after a private battle with colon cancer. From the Comic-Con stage, Coogler revealed that Black Panther 3 is scheduled for theaters on Dec. 15, 2028.
"Thank you to this amazing family that I have the honor and privilege and the blessing to join," Jonsson said. For more star-driven studio updates, follow our celebrity breaking news coverage.