Ryan Gosling shared that he’s been in conversations with Marvel to star as the anti-hero Ghost Rider, but the actor said the details are “complicated.”
The topic came up during the “Project Hail Mary” star’s appearance on the podcast “Happy Sad Confused” on Thursday, after host Josh Horowitz asked if he’d like to officially announce himself as Ghost Rider. Gosling said he’s spoken with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.
“Some discussions have been had,” Gosling said. “It’s a complicated situation.”
When the host asked why Gosling had been so passionate about playing the character—a desire Horowitz said Gosling first mentioned in July 2022—the actor responded that it’s just a “feeling.”
Feige later that month responded to Gosling, saying: “Hey man, if Ryan wants to be Ghost Rider…”
“Gosling’s unbelievable. Ryan is amazing,” he added. “I’d love to find a place for him in the MCU. He’s dressed up as Ken on Venice Beach and gets more press than giant movies coming out that weekend. It’s amazing.”
The first live-action portrayal of Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist who bonded with a demon and became the Spirit of Vengeance after selling his soul to Mephisto to save his foster father, was played by actor Nicolas Cage in 2007. The film also starred Gosling’s wife Eva Mendes, Sam Elliott, Wes Bentley, Matt Long, Peter Fonda and others.
The film spawned a 2012 sequel, “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.”
The character Ghost Rider first appeared in “Marvel Spotlight” #5, released May 30, 1972.
