It’s been quite some time since Marvel’s Ghost Rider hit the screen, as 2011 was the last time the character was featured in a film, and 2016 was the last time Ghost Rider made an appearance on television. While fans wait to see what plans Marvel has for the character, there is one star who has long wanted to play the role, and that star is Ryan Gosling, who just addressed his dream Ghost Rider casting with a promising update.
In an expansive discussion regarding his new film Project Hail Mary, Star Wars, and The Oscars with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gosling was asked if he has had any discussions about Ghost Rider with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. While Gosling kept things vague, he did offer a quite promising update, saying, “Some discussions have been had. It’s a complicated situation.” When Horowitz brought up that Eva Mendes, who is Gosling’s wife, had done a Ghost Rider film, Gosling said, “I’m just happy one of us got to do it.”
Playing Ghost Rider Would Be A Dream Moment for Ryan Gosling, And A Dream Casting For The MCU
Gosling shared his hopes to play Ghost Rider during a previous conversation with Horowitz, which happened in 2024. During that conversation, Gosling said, “I don’t know. I would love to, it would be amazing. Come in [and] be Ghost Rider.” At that time, Gosling revealed that he hadn’t had any conversations with Feige at that time, so those conversations he is vaguely referring to took place over the past two years, and that can’t help but be a positive sign.
The last time fans saw a Ghost Rider on the screen was during season 4 of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which was based on the Robbie Reyes version from the more recent comics. The role was played by Gabriel Luna in the series and was positively received, but the character has yet to make a return in any subsequent projects.
The most well-known version of Ghost Rider on the screen is the 2007 film featuring Nicolas Cage and the aforementioned Eva Mendes. That film featured Cage in the role of Johnny Blaze as he faced the villainous Blackheart, with Mendes playing the role of Roxanne Simpson, Wes Bentley in the role of Blackheart, Sam Elliott in the role of Carter Slade, and Peter Fonda in the role of Mephisto.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance would release in 2011, and while Cage reprised the role of Blaze, most of the stars from the first film wouldn’t return for the sequel. The sequel starred Fergus Riordan as Danny Ketch, Violante Placido as Nadya Ketch, Idris Elba as Moreau, Christopher Lambert as Methodius, Johnny Whitworth as Blackout, and Ciaran Hinds as Mephisto.
The first Ghost Rider made $228 million worldwide at the box office, but the sequel wouldn’t reach that bar, bringing in $132 million over the course of its run. Reyes’ version was well-received in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but after the series ended, Marvel Studios hasn’t revealed any plans for the character to make a return.
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