Marvel took over Comic-Con Saturday with a slew of big announcements, including the casting of Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider and the re-casting of Black Panther.
In a move that has been long lobbied by Marvel Cinematic Universe fans — as well as endorsed
by Gosling himself in interviews — and even projected by Rolling Stone in 2013, MCU honcho Kevin Feige finally made the casting dream a reality by officially announcing Gosling as the skeleton motorcycle hero; Suicide’s punk classic “Ghost Rider” played as Gosling appeared on stage:
“Wow. Is this really happening?” Gosling asked onstage after the reveal. “As you know, this is a character I’ve wanted to play for a long time.”
Re-teaming with Gosling for the May 2028-bound movie is Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy, whose upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter also stars Gosling.
“I’m having the greatest flashback vibes here, because I was here two years ago when we showed Deadpool & Wolverine,” Levy told the Hall H audience Saturday alongside Gosling and Feige. “I’ll never forget that night, because I was introduced to the greatest fans. Gosling is the absolute shit. I say that with tremendous respect. We spent a lot of time last year making Starfighter, and the opportunity as Ryan started talking about this character, I was like, ‘Bro, let’s ride.’ We’ll see you in 2028!”
Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider was previously portrayed by Nicolas Cage in a pair of early-2000s, pre-MCU movies, while actor Gabriel Luna played a alternate version of the character (Robbie Reyes) on TV’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Gosling’s Ghost Rider wasn’t the only new addition to the MCU: Black Panther director Ryan Coogler was on hand to announce that a third installment of that series will arrive in 2028 with a new actor in the role of Black Panther: Rising Industry actor David Jonsson, who recently starred on the big screen in The Long Walk and Alien: Romulus.
In Black Panther 3, Jonsson will play T’Challa II, who was was introduced as T’Challa (the late Chadwick Boseman) and Nakia’s (Lupita Nyong’o) son in the final moments of 2022’s Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever.
The final piece of big news out of Marvel’s Comic-Con panel was a new trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, with many of the cast members — including Robert Downey Jr. and stars from Fox’s original X-Men film series — taking the stage; the Comic-Con exclusive trailer has not yet been posted online.
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