It’s official: after Ryan Gosling talked about it, he really is going to play Ghost Rider. His upcoming Marvel movie was announced at San Diego Comic-Con, and along with it came news about who is directing it. I have to say, while the announcement about the Project Hail Mary actor did not surprise me one bit, the director they chose did leave me shocked.
Fresh off filming Star Wars: Starfighter, together, Gosling will team up with director Shawn Levy for Ghost Rider. You read that right, these two are jumping from one massive franchise to another together, and to me, that’s very, very exciting!
When it comes to Gosling’s casting, I can’t say I’m shocked. A few months ago, when he was promoting the release of Project Hail Mary on the 2026 movie schedule, he was asked on Happy Sad Confused about potentially playing Ghost Rider. He admitted he’d had conversations with Kevin Feige, calling it a “complicated situation” at the time. He’s spoken about this before then too, saying he had a “feeling” about this character. So, clearly, the manifestation worked.
However, while this announcement felt like it could be coming, the news that Levy would be on this journey with him was unexpected.
It’s shocking because they literally were just working on a Star Wars film. So, to jump almost immediately to Marvel is giving me whiplash. It will be a quick turnaround too, because one year after their upcoming Star Wars movie is released on the 2027 movie schedule, Ghost Rider will come out in 2028.
I do think these two are great fits for the MCU, overall. So, I’m thrilled to see them teaming up for this exciting project that Gosling’s been wanting to do. Clearly, they had such a good time on Star Wars that they wanted to make another massive movie together, and I’m ecstatic it’s Ghost Rider. Lots of fans are thrilled about this announcement too, as they commented on Marvel’s Instagram announcement:
- I used to pray for times like this 🙏 - @jpthemusicenjoyer
- Can't wait for ghost riders jacket 🔥- @he__is___him
- Midnight Suns 🙏- @voiceactorsingerrapperwriter
- “NICE JACKET!” 🔥🔥🔥- @rong.gur
- Ryan GHOSTling - @nzzhmd
- Let Nic Cage make a cameo🔥🔥🔥- @ceeramos97
- i apologize in advance for the person i'm about to become - @boda03
Of course, this won’t be Levy’s first rodeo with Marvel; he did direct the well-reviewed Deadpool & Wolverine, and he’s spent his career making action and adventure movies. So, it makes perfect sense why he's been tapped to ride with Ghost Rider. However, the speed at which he and Gosling signed on to another major project together is what got me.
Obviously, not everyone is thrilled by this news, though. Surprise can look different among fans, and here’s what some of the less enthused folks had to say:
- But yall cant make Blade??? - @infernicious
- Is it gonna get the 2019 Blade announcement treatment is the real question we all should be asking? - @sataniclivesmatter_
- SHAWN LEVY? should’ve given it to Sam Raimi 😭💔- @stillm.m
Listen, while people have a right to be anxious and question these choices, I think we should give these guys a chance.
It would seem whatever they did together on Star Wars made them want to collaborate again. So, I think we should all be excited about the fact that Ryan Gosling and Shawn Levy will be jumping from a galaxy far, far away to a world populated by superheroes as they prepare to fly with Starfighter and ride with Ghost Rider over the course of the next two years.
