Ghost Rider has officially joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, courtesy of Ryan Gosling, but will audiences see him in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars? The upcoming MCU blockbusters are already set to include many of the franchise’s most iconic characters. The question is whether there are plans for the Spirit of Vengeance to now be in the mix.
After years of publicly campaigning for the role, Ryan Gosling has officially been cast as the MCU’s Ghost Rider. Fresh off headlining Project Hail Mary and ahead of Star Wars: Starfighter releasing next year, the movie star was welcomed to Marvel’s family as the first major Marvel Studios’ SDCC 2026 panel announcement.
The news arrived as Gosling was confirmed to lead a solo Ghost Rider movie. The feature is slated to hit theaters sometime in 2028. It will be directed by Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Shawn Levy, who just directed Gosling on Starfighter, and written by the Star Wars project’s writer, Jonathan Tropper.
The confirmation of Ghost Rider’s addition to the MCU immediately brings to mind Marvel’s grand plans for the supernatural character. All eyes are on Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, and now the possibility of Gosling appearing in one or both movies has improved.
Ghost Rider Is Not Confirmed To Be In Avengers: Doomsday Or Secret Wars
Marvel may have confirmed Gosling’s Ghost Rider casting, but they did not give any indication as to whether he’ll join forces with the Avengers before getting a solo movie. As of this writing, Ghost Rider is not part of Avengers: Doomsday‘s cast list, and the same is true for Avengers: Secret Wars.
It’s unclear at this juncture when exactly Gosling signed on to join the MCU. Even if he and Marvel have been keeping this secret for some time, it would be surprising if they managed to include him in Doomsday’s production without anyone knowing about it. There is still time to add him now through reshoots, as the movie is still five months away, but doing so would only amount to a minor role, if any.
Secret Wars‘ cast is not officially set in stone, so Marvel could be keeping Gosling’s involvement under wraps. There are only a handful of actors confirmed to return, such as Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Simu Liu, Letitia Wright, and so on. With production expected to begin later this year, if Gosling is going to play Ghost Rider in Secret Wars, an official announcement could come in the months ahead.
Ryan Gosling’s Ghost Rider Casting Increases The Chances Of An Avengers Appearance
Ghost Rider might not be confirmed for a role in either Avengers movie, but there is a much better chance that it happens now. Marvel didn’t have to announce Gosling’s casting now if Ghost Rider isn’t going to enter production until sometime in 2027. They could’ve held onto the secret longer or just refused to make it official.
Announcing Gosling in the role feels like a step toward Marvel revealing that Ghost Rider will be in Secret Wars. It would be an opportunity to introduce a major new character in the Multiverse Saga’s conclusion so audiences are already (hopefully) on board with him ahead of a solo film’s arrival the following year.
Marvel has often introduced key characters in major event films ahead of their solo films, too. Doomsday and Secret Wars‘ directors, the Russo brothers, are no strangers to this, having debuted Spider-Man and Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War before they got individual features in Phase 3. It wouldn’t be surprising if Ghost Rider was the next hero they got to debut.
After all, Gosling has a history with the Russos. They previously worked together on The Gray Man, which was one of Netflix’s most-watched movies for years. That could have helped get Gosling onboard and make him feel comfortable debuting as Ghost Rider in one of these next two Avengers movies.
