Ryan Gosling Is Ghost Rider — Marvel Sets July 28, 2028 Release
Marvel has locked in a release date for its Ghost Rider reboot: July 28, 2028. Ryan Gosling will play the lead, and Shawn Levy — who directed Deadpool & Wolverine — is back in the director's chair. It's the 42nd film in the MCU, confirmed Deadline on August 17, 2026.
The team
Gosling is best known outside the MCU for Barbie and Blade Runner 2049. According to reports, he pitched the role directly to Levy rather than being recruited by the studio — an unusual move that positions this as a personal project for both men. The two are already collaborating on Star Wars: Starfighter, due in May 2027, so the working relationship is established.
Jonathan Tropper, also attached to Star Wars: Starfighter, is writing the screenplay. No plot details have been revealed, and Marvel has not confirmed which version of Ghost Rider Gosling will play — Johnny Blaze or Robbie Reyes, the two most prominent characters to carry the name in the comics.
Ryan Gosling will play Ghost Rider in the 42nd MCU film, directed by Shawn Levy.
The history
Ghost Rider is not a new Hollywood bet. Nicolas Cage played the character in two Sony films — Ghost Rider (2007) and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012) — and neither landed well with critics or at the box office. Gabriel Luna and Tom McRae later played Robbie Reyes and Johnny Blaze respectively in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. This is Marvel Studios' first attempt to bring the character to the big screen under the MCU banner.
The slate
The July 28 date slots Ghost Rider into a busy 2028 Marvel calendar, per Variety: an X-Men film opens in May, Ghost Rider lands in late July, and Black Panther 3 closes the year in December. Late July has become a proven window for Marvel — Deadpool & Wolverine used the same summer positioning in 2024 to strong effect. No streaming window has been announced; theatrical only for now.