There are some actors who feel made for the Marvel Studios machine, and then there are actors who seem weirdly perfect for one very specific corner of it. Ryan Gosling and “Ghost Rider” have long been one of those pairings. Now, Gosling has confirmed that the idea has at least made it into the room.
READ MORE: Ryan Gosling Denies ‘Nova’ Rumors But Says He Is Interested In Marvel’s ‘Ghost Rider’
Appearing on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast while promoting “Project Hail Mary,” Gosling was asked whether the “Ghost Rider” talk had moved beyond fan chatter. “We’ll keep hope alive,” he said. When Horowitz followed by asking whether he had actually had that conversation with Kevin Feige, Gosling answered, “Some discussions have been had. It’s a complicated situation.”
The interest has been public for a while. In 2022, after Gosling said Ghost Rider was the Marvel character he most wanted to play, Feige said, “Gosling’s unbelievable… I’d love to find a place for him in the MCU.” Gosling also returned to that instinct in the new interview. Asked why Ghost Rider was the one, he answered, “Just a feeling.”
Gosling also joked about one connection he already has to the property. When Horowitz noted that Eva Mendes had already starred in the 2007 “Ghost Rider” opposite Nicolas Cage, Gosling said, “I’m just happy one of us got to do it.” Cage played Johnny Blaze in the 2007 film and in 2011’s “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,” while Gabriel Luna later played Robbie Reyes on “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” before a planned Hulu spinoff was scrapped.
In the meantime, Gosling’s “Project Hail Mary” seems poised to be a big hit at the box office this weekend, with Thursday night estimates higher than the Thursday haul Christopher Nolan took in for “Oppenheimer.” Additionally, Lucasfilm has him set to lead Shawn Levy’s “Star Wars: Starfighter,” the standalone “Star Wars” feature that the studio announced last year and says is now in production in the U.K. with a cast that includes Amy Adams, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, and Matt Smith. So while the “Ghost Rider” talk remains just that for now, Gosling’s franchise future is hardly empty.
