![‘Ghost Rider’: Ryan Gosling Will Ride Into The MCU In 2028; Shawn Levy Directing [Comic-Con]](https://cdn.theplaylist.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/25210931/ryan-gosling-ghost-rider.jpg "‘Ghost Rider’: Ryan Gosling Will Ride Into The MCU In 2028; Shawn Levy Directing [Comic-Con]")
Marvel Studios and Disney have begun putting together their big plans for what happens after “Avengers: Secret Wars,” and it doesn’t look like a full “reset” so much as an exploration of different corners of the MCU. As announced during San Diego Comic-Con last month, Ryan Gosling (“Drive,” “The Fall Guy,” “Blade Runner 2049) is set to top-line their “Ghost Rider” reboot with “Star Wars: Starfighter” director Shawn Levy and screenwriter Jonathan Tropper as the main creative forces behind it.
Well, yesterday Disney announced when audiences can expect the MCU action-horror film to ride into theaters: “Ghost Rider” now has an official release date of July 28, 2028. This marks the third big release of that year alongside Jake Schreier‘s “X-Men” reboot on May 5, 2028, and Ryan Coogler‘s “Black Panther 3” on December 15, 2028.
Another thing we still don’t exactly know is which iteration of Ghost Rider Gosling is playing; there have been multiple people in the mantle, such as Johnny Blaze (previously played by Nicolas Cage in two movies for Sony Pictures) and Blaze’s younger half-brother, Danny Ketch. What isn’t exactly clear is the film’s rating; the Cage films were PG-13, but Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” which recently crossed a billion dollars over the summer, proves there is certainly still hunger for mature event films. After all, Marvel did hire the director who delivered Marvel and Disney one of the biggest R-rated success stories with “Deadpool & Wolverine,” so while not a sure bet, there is the possibility they go mature with it (might as well, since ghosts and demons being the subject matter likely means China is going to be ruled out as a theatrical market).
This won’t be the first major horror entry for Marvel Studios, as Sam Raimi‘s “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness” employed some nifty elements, including reanimating and puppeting the corpse of a dead Stephen Strange variant with the help of demon spirits. Not to mention small-screen attempts on Disney+ with “Moon Knight” and “Werewolf By Night,” as there could be a bit of push toward a “Midnight Sons” project down the line after “Blade” has been struggling to get into production (Mahershala Ali had announced his departure from it).
We still don’t have dates for other things like the gestating solo “Nova” film (the Nova Corps. being first introduced in “The Guardians of The Galaxy“) that is being written by Michael Waldron (“Loki”), and while there hasn’t been any official word about the status of “Spider-Man 5” (all but assured given the overwhelming positive audience/critical reaction and box office success of the latest installment), director Destin Daniel Cretton has been starting early work on “Shang-Chi 2” with returning co-writer Dave Callaham (“Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse”).
Beyond that, we can only assume that something like “The New Avengers” sequel could be on deck as something to keep the “Avengers” brand going after “Secret Wars,” and we’ll keep our fingers crossed for projects such as “The Fantastic Four 2,” “Captain America 5,” “Doctor Strange 3,” and “Thor 5.” Although nothing from Marvel or Disney brass suggests that any of those projects, despite persistent internet chatter, are actually in any real phase of development.
Next up will be finding Gosling’s co-stars and who the big bad will be. Interestingly enough, British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has already been established as the MCU’s version of Mephisto in “Ironheart,” so, in theory, that villainous entity could potentially return in “Ghost Rider.” However, we’re just spitballing here about what the project’s angle “may” be.
