All 5 Ghost Riders Ryan Gosling Might Be Playing In The MCU, Ranked

Hollywood superstar and Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling is officially the MCU's Ghost Rider, and there are five key characters from Marvel Comics that he could be playing. The Barbie and Project Hail Mary star took to the stage at San Diego Comic-Con to announce Ghost Rider and confirm that he will play the MCU's Spirit of Vengeance in the 2028 Phase 7 blockbuster. Audiences now expect Gosling to become a regular player in the MCU's next saga after Marvel Studios reportedly abandoned plans for Ghost Rider's early debut in Avengers: Doomsday.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has been clear that Ghost Rider is very much a product of its star, who he told ComicBook is a "huge fan of the comics" and approached the studio with a "specific vision based on some particular [stories]." Over the years, there have been many Ghost Riders, and Feige is still hesitant to confirm which they will be adapting, saying that he is "gonna let Ryan reveal what he wants to reveal when he wants to reveal it."

Which Version of Ghost Rider Is Ryan Gosling Playing in the MCU?

BONUS.) Alejandra Jones

During 2011's Fear Itself storyline on the pages of Marvel Comics, the 18-year-old daughter of an American human trafficker and a Mexican woman, Alejandra Jones, was transformed into Ghost Rider. Having been sold to Adam K'ad-Mon in Nicaragua, where she was trained to become the next Ghost Rider.

As a female Mexican-American, Jones isn't on the table for now, although she may be the kind of character that Marvel Studios is interested in further down the line as a unique successor to whatever Ghost Rider lands in the MCU through Gosling.

5.) Cosmic Ghost Rider (Frank Castle)

Cosmic Ghost Rider is one of Marvel Comics' more recent creations, having only debuted in Thanos (2016-18), an ongoing run starring the Mad Titan. Strangely, behind this overpowered Ghost Rider was the Punisher himself, Frank Castle, who lives in an alternate future where Thanos had successfully conquered the galaxy.

This version of Castle was sent to Hell when he was slain by Thanos and made a deal with Mephisto to pursue revenge, taking up the mantle of Ghost Rider. He would later join forces with an injured Galactus, becoming his Herald to combine his cosmic powers with the Spirit of Vengeance to battle Thanos.

Not only will Ryan Gosling not be playing Cosmic Ghost Rider, as the role of Frank Castle is already filled by Jon Bernthal across this year's Spider-Man: Brand New Day and other MCU projects like The Punisher: One Last Kill. Sadly, Cosmic Ghost Rider is one of many crazy "What If...?" scenarios in Marvel Comics history that are doomed to go unadapted now that the animated anthology show is over.

4.) Parker Robbins 

Parker Robbins went from a common criminal to a supervillain after killing a Nisanti demon and stealing its supernaturally powered hood. While he is better known as The Hood, he recently took on the role of Ghost Rider after the Spirit of Vengeance, Zarathos, who was bonded to Johnny Blaze, sought a new host who lacked such a moral compass and would lean into his darker impulses.

Robbins becoming Ghost Rider anytime soon is unlikely, and even if Marvel Studios took that route, Hamilton actor Anthony Ramos would play him, as he did in all six episodes of Disney+'s Ironheart last year. Fans can only hope that there are plans to continue Robbins' journey after his Ironheart post-credits scene, and that could involve a head-on collision with Ghost Rider.

Marvel Studios is on a trajectory towards assembling the Midnight Sons, with Gosling now expected to lead the supernatural team after Ghost Rider. Both Ghost Rider and the Hood have a history of making deals with Mephisto, the movie's rumored villain, giving them plenty to bond over when the time comes.

3.) Robbie Reyes

In 2014's All-New Ghost Rider, Marvel Comics introduced a new take on the character in Robbie Reyes, a hard-working Mexican-American teenage mechanic. When Reyes entered a street race in a 1969 Dodge Charger, haunted by the spirit of his satanic uncle, Eli Morrow, he was gunned down and revived as Ghost Rider to seek retribution on the mercenaries who killed him and his disabled brother.

Robbie is immediately out of contention to be Gosling's Ghost Rider, and not just because the Oscar-nominee isn't Mexican-American like the character. The Latin mechanic already played a major role in the MCU in Agents of SHIELD Season 4, played by The Last of Us actor Gabriel Luna (if it is actually canon).

Reyes was almost the lead of his own Agents of SHIELD spin-off on Hulu, part of a larger "Adventure into Fear" banner that only produced one season of Helstrom. The show was canceled during pre-production due to creative differences, but perhaps Luna will get to pass the head-shaped torch to Gosling in Ghost Rider.

2.) Danny Ketch

Danny Ketch was the second-ever iteration of Ghost Rider, who was attacked by gangsters in a junkyard where he discovered a mysterious motorbike with a mystical sigil. With hands covered in his dying sister's blood, Ketch touched the symbol and was transformed into Ghost Rider to defeat his attackers.

Ketch's transformation into Ghost Rider stems from a generational curse that also includes his long-lost half-brother, Johnny Blaze. Both are descended from Noble Kale, an 18th-century man whose whole family was cursed as he became the first Spirit of Vengeance, setting up Ketch to one day inherit the mantle.

There are major perks to choosing Danny Ketch over the more iconic stunt cyclist, Johnny Blaze, namely originality. Marvel Studios famously charts its own course, and Nicolas Cage already played Blaze in two solo movies and almost reprised Ghost Rider in Deadpool & Wolverine, so Ketch may be a breath of fresh air.

1.) Johnny Blaze

The most famous Ghost Rider by far is Johnny Blaze, a hot-headed American motorbike stunt performer who lands a deal with Mephisto to save his cancer-ridden father and bond with the demon Zarathos. As he just played a stuntman in 2024's The Fall Guy, Gosling and Blaze are the natural pairing for the MCU.

While Blaze has already revved his engines onto the big screen in Ghost Rider (2007) and Spirit of Vengeance (2011), it seems likely that Marvel Studios is ready to run it back with the same iteration. The recent years of reports have always claimed that the MCU's plans were for Blaze, not Ketch or any other Ghost Rider, due to his heightened popularity and much longer history in the comics.

However, Blaze may have already been Ghost Rider in the MCU, as Agents of SHIELD indicated that he was the flaming motorcyclist that Robbie Reyes inherited the Spirit of Vengeance from to seek revenge on the gang that nearly killed him. Then again, Ghost Rider won't be released until after Secret Wars in Phase 7, by which point Agents of SHIELD's canon status will be even more precarious.