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Ghost Rider: release date and everything else we know so far about the new Marvel movie starring Ryan Gosling

The Spirit of Vengeance will join the MCU in 2028 — here's all you need to know about his next big-screen adventure

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Ghost Rider will be the first supernatural Marvel project of MCU 2.0 (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2026
Due to be released in July 2028
Filming yet to begin
Unsurprisingly, no footage has been unveiled
Ryan Gosling will play the titular anti-hero
Other cast and plot details being kept under wraps

Ghost Rider is gearing up to ride on the big screen once more. Fourteen years have passed since Nicolas Cage portrayed the titular anti-hero for the second and final time, but with Marvel set to release a new movie starring the Spirit of Vengeance in July 2028, a whole new audience will soon get to meet the supernatural figure.

So, what do we know about the forthcoming film ahead of the character's addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)? Below, I've rounded up the biggest and latest news on Ghost Rider, including its full launch date and who's involved in its production. So, start revving your demon-fuelled motorcycle, and let's dive in together.

Just announced in Hall H: Ryan Gosling joins the MCU in Marvel Studios' Ghost Rider, directed by Shawn Levy. Only in theaters 2028. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/S0FQKt 5RGn July 26, 2026

Ghost Rider will put pedal to the metal in theaters worldwide on July 28, 2028.

Initially, Marvel only announced — at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2026 — that it would arrive sometime in 2028. However, Variety has since reported that Disney has locked in a formal release date.

Of course, it's possible, depending on how development progresses, its launch could be delayed or brought forward. For now, it'll be the second of three MCU movies to drop in 2028 — the others being X-Men (May 5, 2028) and Black Panther 3 (December 15, 2028).

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Johnny Blaze is one of three high-profile Ghost Riders in Marvel Comics (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Unsurprisingly, no. Ghost Rider's existence was only confirmed in July, and currently, there's no word on when filming will begin. Long story short: it'll be a long time before a teaser is with us.

My best guess for when it could arrive? Sometime in early 2028. Marvel won't want attention drawn away from Avengers: Secret Wars, which arrives on December 17, 2027, and will cap off the Marvel Multiverse Saga, so there's no chance of a Ghost Rider trailer coming out before then. Whenever one is shared online, I'll update this section.

Ghost Rider enters the MCU 🔥 Ryan Gosling will star in Marvel Studios' Ghost Rider, directed by Shawn Levy. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/MR2HJww 2 Wg July 26, 2026

Right now, Ghost Rider's confirmed cast totals one, but it is one big-name star in the form of Ryan Gosling.

Gosling, who has starred in myriad popular movies including Project Hail Mary, Barbie, Drive, The Place Beyond the Pines, and The Notebook, has long been rumored to play Ghost Rider in the MCU.

Shawn Levy (Stranger Things, Free Guy) and Jonathan Tropper (Lucky) are on board as the movie's director and writer. This marks the second time they've teamed with Gosling on a highly anticipated film project, following the trio's work on Star Wars: Starfighter, which comes out in May 2027.

Reports first emerged of Gosling joining the cinematic juggernaut in 2022. The actor responded by saying he'd be up for following in Cage's footsteps as the so-called Hell King. Weeks later at SDCC 2022, Marvel president Kevin Feige told MTV that he'd "love" to find a place for Gosling in the MCU.

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With speculation continuing to mount in the years since, Gosling told the Happy Sad Confused Podcast in March that "some discussions" had taken place with Marvel. Cut to the comic giant's Hall H presentation at this year's SDCC, and Gosling's addition to the MCU was officially confirmed.

As of September 2026, no other cast announcements have been made. Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long for the rest of its ensemble to be rounded out.

Is Ryan Gosling going to play Danny Ketch in Marvel's new Ghost Rider flick? (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Given that it's still in early development, Ghost Rider doesn't have a story synopsis yet. Nonetheless, Feige and company have given us some information about who was the driving force behind this Marvel Phase 7 production, and it sounds like Gosling is a major reason for it getting made.

"It was Gosling who had the vision," Feige told Empire Magazine. "It was Gosling who had the pitch that won over Shawn, that had them come and pitch us this idea, which led to us on stage today."

"Literally six minutes into him [Gosling] telling me about it, I’m like, 'Yeah, let’s go. We’re doing that,'" Levy also told People Magazine. "We walked it to Kevin, and here we are."

Some fans might be understandably concerned about Ghost Rider. After all, in a similar situation, Marvel greenlit a film centered on another of its iconic supernatural characters, Blade, after Mahershala Ali pitched an idea to the comic giant in 2019. Seven years on, that flick has not only all but been canceled, but seen Ali officially walk away from it. Here's hoping Ghost Rider won't go the same way.

As for what its story will be about, that'll depend on which version of the skeletal superhuman Gosling will portray. Johnny Blaze and Robbie Reyes are arguably the most well-known iterations of the character, but have already been portrayed in live-action projects by Cage and Gabriel Luna. If Marvel wants to go in a different direction, Danny Ketch would be the most obvious choice. However, I wouldn't discount Blaze or Reyes as the character Gosling is eventually revealed to be playing.

Who is Ghost Rider? The Marvel anti-hero's comic book history explained

How will Ghost Rider's introduction affect the MCU? (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

The information up until now is all well and good, but who is Ghost Rider exactly?

For the uninitiated, Ghost Rider was originally created by Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich, and Mike Ploog. The first iteration of the character — Johnny Blaze — made his comic book debut in Marvel Spotlight #5 in August 1972. Blaze gained his superhuman abilities after making a deal with the demon lord Mephisto in exchange for curing his father figure Crash Simpson's cancer.

Eighteen years later, Howard Mackie and Javier Saltares reimagined the character as Danny Ketch. Introduced in Ghost Rider volume #1 in May 1990, Ketch assumed the mantle after coming across a motorcycle bearing a mysterious sigil. Then, in March 2014, Robbie Reyes — devised by Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore — became the new Ghost Rider, revived by the spirit of a man named Eli Morrow after being gunned down by mercenaries.

Other Marvel characters have also held the Ghost Rider mantle, including Alejandra Jones, Kushala, Sal Romero, and Parker Robbins, but Blaze, Ketch and Reyes are the most well-known iterations.

Abilities-wise, most Ghost Riders possess similar power sets, including — but not limited to — superhuman strength, reflexes, stamina, and speed, immortality, invulnerability, pyrokinesis, teleportation, occultism and magic, and reality-bending powers. The bikes ridden by Blaze and Ketch, plus the Challenger car driven by Reyes, are also imbued with various supernatural abilities that allow them to travel at high speeds and/or across dimensions, to name just two.

Ryan Gosling's (left) Ghost Rider could reignite interest in the MCU's supernatural side (Image credit: Shawn Levy)

Nobody knows. However, there's the very real possibility that Ghost Rider could breathe new life into the supernatural corner of the MCU, especially with the cinematic franchise set to undergo a soft reboot once the Multiverse Saga draws to a close.

Marvel has already dabbled in otherworldly projects and characters, such as the Doctor Strange films, Moon Knight show, and its Werewolf by Night TV special on Disney+. If Ghost Rider is successful in renewing fans' interest in this side of the new-look MCU, we might not only be reunited with these characters, but also see the likes of Blade finally enter the fray with their own solo projects or — whisper it quietly — give us that long-overdue Midnight Sons movie.

For more Marvel coverage, find out everything we know so far about Avengers: Doomsday, get the full lowdown on Vision Quest, learn all there is to know about Daredevil: Born Again season 3, and the very latest on Marvel's new X-Men movie.

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As Tech Radar's senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You'll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.

An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as this Moon Knight TV spot.

Away from work, Tom can be found checking out the latest video games, immersing himself in his favorite sporting pastime of football, reading the many unread books on his shelf, staying fit at the gym, and petting every dog he comes across.

Got a scoop, interesting story, or an intriguing angle on the latest news in entertainment? Feel free to drop him a line.

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