Marvel Studios is taking from the oldie-but-goodie pile as it kicks off its next saga. As announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, Phase 7 will feature a Ghost Rider movie, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling. Beyond the director and star, details about the project are scarce, as the powers that be try to keep a lid on things while development continues. But they can't even deny that Ghost Rider is a big risk for the company, since it breaks a nearly 40-year-old tradition.
Ryan Gosling's Ghost Rider film won't be the Spirit of Vengeance's big-screen experience. Nicolas Cage rode the flaming bike in two movies: one in 2007 and another in 2011. The first film, also titled Ghost Rider, showed plenty of promise, making it easy for the studio to greenlight a sequel. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance didn't hold up its end of the bargain; it did well enough at the box office but was panned by critics and fans alike.
Ghost Rider sat on the shelf for years until a new version appeared in Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. But Marvel Studios' relationship with that series is complicated at best, which means it's unlikely it will be referenced in Levy's film. The creative team will seemingly have a clean slate, at least after they clean 17 years' worth of dust off of it. The gap between Spirit of Vengeance and the new Ghost Rider is noteworthy because it will be longer than any other reboot period in Marvel Studios history.
Kevin Feige and Co. got their first reboot out of the way early. The Incredible Hulk was released in theaters in 2008, only five years after Ang Lee brought the Jade Giant to life in his film. While Hulk has a cult following today, it didn't make enough waves for Marvel Studios to consider following up on it.
Another movie that found itself in a similar boat was 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Rumors circulated in the early 2010s that Andrew Garfield's Wall-Crawler would find his way into the MCU. However, the poor reception to TASM 2 and leaked plans put that idea to bed. Instead, Sony and Marvel Studios worked together on Spider-Man: Homecoming, which released in 2017 and starred Tom Holland, who made his big-screen debut as Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War.
The Fantastic Four similarly got an early introduction in the MCU, when their ship showed up in the post-credits scene of Thunderbolts*. Marvel's First Family needed all the goodwill they could get because they were still carrying around the baggage left behind by Fantastic Four in 2015. A decade-long break did Reed Richards and his friends good because they showed up in The Fantastic Four: First Steps with something to prove.
The X-Men are sure to have a similar attitude when they return to the big screen in their 2028 reboot, directed by Jake Schreier. Dark Phoenix held up better than some of Fox's mutant affairs. But by the time 2019 rolled around, it was clear the X-Men belonged in better hands.
Based on how Levy and Gosling are talking, Ghost Rider isn't in any danger of repeating the mistakes of the past. Its fiery road is paved with good (and bad) intentions.
All the Ways Ghost Rider Will Be Different From Previous Iterations
A Solidified Supernatural Corner of the Universe
When Ghost Rider came out in 2007, it stood on its own; no other superhero franchise connected to it because studios weren't doing that at the time. That meant the world had to be built from the ground up, especially the supernatural elements. Marvel Studios' Ghost Rider won't have to waste time making sure the audience believes what's happening on screen, since it has two decades' worth of material to fall back on.
A Darker Tone
There's been no word on whether Levy's Ghost Rider will be rated R. However, Marvel Studios has already dipped its toe in that water with Deadpool & Wolverine, letting the Merc With a Mouth curse and kill as much as he wanted. Ghost Rider will hopefully be afforded the same oppurtunity. And even if he isn't, the creative team is sure to, at the very least, take the material seriously and avoid too much campiness.
Real Passion
No one could accuse Cage of phoning in his performance as Johnny Blaze. He puts his love for comic books on the record as often as possible. Gosling might be able to go toe-to-toe with him, though, because he's been after the Ghost Rider role for years. His passion for the character can push everyone else working on the project to bring their best effort and deliver a movie worth watching over and over again.
