Marvel Studios has officially found its Ghost Rider, and it’s a casting choice that has been years in the making. For years, Ryan Gosling kept bringing up Ghost Rider whenever Marvel came up in interviews. However, the more he talked about it, the more it felt like he was trying to manifest it. Now, after years of speculation, that wish has officially become reality.

During Marvel Studios’ Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige started the panel with one of its biggest surprises. He confirmed that the studio has officially begun work on a new Ghost Rider film. Feige then welcomed Ryan Gosling and director Shawn Levy to the stage. “You know this is a character that I’ve wanted to play for a very long time. So, Kevin, Josh Horowitz, Hall H, thank you,” said Gosling.

Gosling will play Ghost Rider in what marks the Spirit of Vengeance’s long-awaited debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Levy, who most recently directed Deadpool & Wolverine, is attached to helm the project, while Jonathan Tropper is writing the screenplay.

For a few years now, Gosling has been actively and publicly stating that he would love to play Ghost Rider. Back in 2022, while promoting The Gray Man, he told interviewer Josh Horowitz that if he could choose any Marvel role, Ghost Rider would be the one. Kevin Feige even responded publicly at the time, saying he would love to find a place for Gosling in the MCU. Fast forward a few years, and that conversation has come full circle in the biggest way possible.

In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes at Comic-Con, he said that Ryan pitched an idea and a vision for the film to his Star Wars: Starfighter director, Shawn Levy, and then pitched it to Kevin Feige. Feige loved the idea, and here we are, with Ryan finally landing the role he wanted.

Ghost Rider hits theaters in 2028.