A legend is born! Ghost Rider is finally entering the MCU, played by Ryan Gosling. Announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, Gosling's introduction into the Marvel universe will be directed by Deadpool and Wolverine helmer Shawn Levy. It's been a long time coming too, with Gosling speaking about wanting to play the character for several years before Kevin Feige gave it the green light.
Now that the news is in the wild, there have been quite a few updates to wade through. The movie seemingly has an official release date and a very cool logo. We've also found out that there's a specific set of comics that it's going to adapt. We've broken down all of this information below to help you navigate the latest MCU entry.
That's not all either, as we've also got a breakdown of all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows on the way, as well as a guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order if you want to catch up pre-Ghost Rider. The Spirit of Vengeance arrives…
Ghost Rider release date
Ghost Rider is set to arrive in theaters on July 28, 2028.
It will actually be one of three Marvel movies arriving in 2028, beginning with the X-Men movie in May and ending with Black Panther 3 in December. These will all feature as part of a whole new phase for the MCU too, with Phase 6 ending with Avengers: Secret Wars in late 2027.
Ghost Rider plot details
Ghost Rider will star Ryan Gosling, be directed by Shawn Levy, and will be written by Jonathan Tropper. And that's pretty much everything we know so far about the upcoming movie.
No plot details have been announced yet, and we don't even know yet what version of Ghost Rider Gosling will be playing. All Feige has revealed is that the actor had a "specific vision" for the movie.
Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, Feige told ComicBook.com: "I am going to let Ryan reveal what he wants to reveal, when he wants to reveal it, and what he wanted to reveal today is: he's playing Ghost Rider. He is a huge fan of the comics; he did come to us particularly with a specific vision, based on some particular comics, but I'll let him unveil that as he wants to."
Levy also echoed that Gosling's pitch is very strong. Speaking to People in August 2026, ahead of the release of the duo's upcoming Star Wars movie, Starfighter, he revealed that he was sold on the idea in just six minutes.
Which Ghost Rider is Ryan Gosling playing?
Gosling's Ghost Rider will be the third version of the character we've seen on screens. Nicolas Cage played Johnny Blaze previously in two Sony movies, and Gabriel Luna starred as Robbie Reyes in Agents of SHIELD. However, this will likely reboot the character as the main MCU version from here on out.
As for what version he's playing, we don't yet know. However, we can assume that the movie will hit some of the usual touch points that are typical for Ghost Rider's story. The two main versions of the character are Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch.
Blaze was first introduced in Marvel Comics in 1972 as a stunt motorcyclist who sells his soul to Satan (actually Mephisto) to save his foster father's life. This leaves his flesh consumed by hellfire at night and around evil, giving him his signature flaming skull look.
The second version of Ghost Rider was introduced in the '90s. Danny Ketch comes into contact with a motorcycle containing the Spirit of Vengeance, which gives him his powers. Blaze is also a part of this story, and it's later revealed that Ketch is his long-lost sibling.
There have been several more versions of the character too, including Robbie Reyes and Parker Robbins. But given these are less-known stories, we'd bet Gosling's film will focus on one of the first two.
Ghost Rider cast
As of right now, the only confirmed cast member of the Ghost Rider movie is Ryan Gosling as the title character. However, we still don't know if he'll be Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch yet.
If Ghost Rider does adapt the Johnny Blaze storyline, we could see Mephisto appear. The character was introduced in the MCU back in Ironheart, played by Sacha Baron Cohen. He's only appeared in a very small cameo part so far, so this could be a more major role for him.
We'll have to wait and see who else will appear in the movie. However, it's a pretty safe bet that we'll see some familiar faces. This is a Marvel movie, after all.
The full confirmed cast so far simply reads:
- Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider
Is there a Ghost Rider trailer?
No, there's no trailer for Ghost Rider yet. The movie hasn't started filming yet, as it has only just been released. As a result, we'll be waiting a while until we see any footage from the upcoming movie.
Given that its release date is in mid-2028, we'd expect to see a trailer a few months before. Our best bet at the moment is late 2027 or early 2028. We could also get an early look at Marvel's typical convention appearances in 2027, either at San Diego Comic-Con in July or D23 in August. We'll keep you updated.
In the meantime, check out the announcement at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 above.
For more on all things Marvel, check out our guide to the Marvel timeline as well as our ranking of the best Marvel movies.
