The spirit of vengeance lives! Ryan Gosling finally joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe at San Diego Comic-Con 2026.
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Gosling, 45, made a surprise appearance at Marvel Studios’ Hall H panel on Saturday, July 25, to confirm that he will star in a reboot of the Ghost Rider franchise. (Nicolas Cage previously played the character in two movies – 2007’s Ghost Rider and 2012’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – that exist outside the MCU continuity.)
He will team up on a new Ghost Rider movie with Stranger Things director Shawn Levy, who previously worked with Marvel Studios on 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. (Gosling and Levy collaborated on the upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter.)
There was even more exciting news about the future of the MCU beyond December’s Avengers: Doomsday and 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars, including an update on the long-awaited Black Panther III.
Keep scrolling for the biggest news to come out of Marvel Studios’ Hall H Panel
Gosling surprised fans by showing up unannounced to Hall H to confirm he will play the superhero Ghost Rider in a 2028 reboot directed by Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Levy.
The Project Hail Mary actor has publicly campaigned for the Ghost Rider role in the past – revealing to the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast all the way back in 2022 that he’d discussed the part with Marvel Studios.
During the Hall H panel, Gosling described Ghost Rider as “a character I’ve wanted to play for a long time.”
For his part, Levy praised Gosling during the Comic-Con panel as “the absolute s***t” and promised Ghost Rider will be worth the wait for fans.
“I want to say thank you so much,” Jonsson said in Hall H. “Thank you, Ryan. Thank you, Kevin. Thank you to this amazing family that I honor. [It’s] a privilege and blessing to join.”
He went on, “I don’t want to say too much because I want to let the screen do the talking, but believe me, the honor is entirely mine.”
Black Panther III is expected to premiere in 2028.
Some exciting casting news kicked off the Avengers: Doomsday portion of Marvel Studios’ presentation, as Hayley Atwell was confirmed to reprise her role as Peggy Carter opposite Chris Evans‘ previously-announced Steve Rogers / Captain America.
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Fresh off the debut of the extended trailer for Avengers: Doomsday on Monday, July 20, fans in Hall H got an exclusive sneak peek at brand new footage on Saturday.
Per Variety, the new clip focuses heavily on Robert Downey Jr.‘s villainous Dr. Doom sitting on his throne in Latveria as various clips of the MCU heroes in battle are interspersed.
Fantastic 4 member Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) provides some background on Doom, describing him as “broken as a person.”
“He’s always the smartest guy in every world. He used to be different. He used to be kind, he used to be caring … Everything he loved was taken from him,” she explains. “I knew he was lost but I did not realize that he was broken.”
The footage climaxes with Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) questioning whether Doom could be responsible for mass carnage across Earth.
“All of you have lived stolen lives. You refuse to give them back,” Doom snarls.
When Thor (Chris Hemsworth) wields his trusty hammer Mjolnir against Doom, he is quickly pushed aside as the villain unleashes an army of Sentinels from the X-Men universe to fight Earth’s mightiest heroes.
While the trailer was a convention-exclusive, Marvel Studios publicly shared a new Avengers: Doomsday poster featuring Downey as Doom.
“Decisions will have to be made, you’ll have to be on the side of the good guys, or you’ll have to consider the alternative [by] joining a family of Doom,” Downey teased during the panel. “Come over to the green side.”
Avengers: Doomsday opens December 18 and will be followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on December 17, 2027.
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This story was originally published July 25, 2026 at 11:31 PM.