Ryan Gosling Announced as Ghost Rider at SDCC

Ryan Gosling was finally announced as the Ghost Rider of the MCU after months of rumors and speculation. The actor took the stage at Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) this Saturday (25), alongside Kevin Feige for the announcement of the productions that will follow Avengers: Secret Wars.

It was also confirmed, alongside with a poster, that the anti-hero's solo movie is slated for a 2028 release and will be directed by Shawn Levy (Deadpool & Wolverine). 

In theaters, Ghost Rider was played in two films by Nicolas Cage, who portrayed the character’s classic version: Johnny Blaze. The MCU actually already has a Ghost Rider: Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us) played the Robbie Reyes version of Ghost Rider in Agents of SHIELD.

Everything you need to know about Avengers: Domsday.

The villain of the story in the fifth Avengers film will be Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr., the actor who portrayed the legendary Iron Man in the MCU’s Infinity Saga and now takes on the role of antagonist. Avengers: Doomsday will be directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo (Endgame), with a script by Michael Waldron (Loki) and Stephen McFreely (Endgame).

Marvel has already confirmed the main cast members of the new film, in one of the biggest gatherings of MCU stars ever assembled. Returning from previous Avengers films are: Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Winston Duke as M'Baku, and Letitia Wright as Shuri/Black Panther.

Among characters introduced after Avengers: Endgame — in phases 4 and 5 of the MCU — we have Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Danny Ramirez as Falcon, the entire new Fantastic Four (Pedro Pascal as Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the Thing), nearly the entire cast of Thunderbolts* (Florence Pugh as Yelena, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Hanah John-Kamen as Ghost, and Lewis Pullman as Bob, the Sentry), and Tenoch Huerta as Namor.

In a live cast announcement, there was also the movie’s biggest surprise so far: the return of the classic X-Men from the old Fox films, including Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto, James Marsden as Cyclops, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique and, introduced in Deadpool & Wolverine, Channing Tatum as Gambit.

Avengers: Doomsday pens on December 18, 2026.