Ryan Gosling has confirmed he’s had discussions with Marvel to play flame-headed hero Ghost Rider.
The Project Hail Mary star has not been shy about his desire to portray Ghost Rider in live-action at some point, and his comments on the subject have even previously caught the attention of Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige.
Now, speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gosling was asked for an update on the situation, and confirmed that actual conversations between him and Marvel had taken place — though the situation currently remains unresolved.
“We’ll keep hope alive,” Gosling teased, as he was pressed for more information. “Some discussions have been had,” he continued. “It’s a complicated situation.”
Gosling first mentioned his desire to play Marvel’s demonic bike rider back in 2022, which Feige responded positively to at the time. “Hey man, if Ryan wants to be Ghost Rider… Gosling’s unbelievable,” the Marvel Studios president told MTV News. “Ryan is amazing… I’d love to find a place for him in the MCU.”
Several years later and nothing more has materialized, though to be fair there hasn’t been much opportunity for it to happen — yet, anyway. With this year’s Avengers already stuffed full of returning heroes, including Fox’s legacy X-Men, there’s limited room for Gosling to make a big entrance. But perhaps 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars could provide a better introduction?
Marvel has of course featured several live-action Ghost Rider incarnations previously, with Nicholas Cage playing motorcycle stuntman Johnny Blaze in the 2007 Ghost Rider film and 2011 follow-up Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. The Last of Us’ Gabriel Luna then played the Robbie Reyes version of Ghost Rider in 10 episodes of Agents of Shield.
Bizarrely, while Gosling is yet to play Ghost Rider himself, his partner Eva Mendes appeared in Cage’s first film. “I’m just happy one of us got to do it,” Gosling said.
Image credit: Marvel/Sony.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
