He’s literally me: a flaming skeleton.
This year’s San Diego Comic-Con gave Marvel fans a brand-new Black Panther, a Ryan Reynolds gatecrash and some more spicy details about the divisive Avengers: Doomsday.
But perhaps the most unexpected reveal was Ryan Gosling as the next Ghost Rider.
Gosling seems to be collecting his major movie bag at the moment, with the raging success of Project Hail Mary and his addition to the Star Wars universe in the upcoming Starfighter film.
Now, he joins another Disney-owned franchise, playing the supernatural, flame-bound antihero who rides a fiery motorcycle towards his victims’ doom.
Motorcycles are nothing new to Gosling.
Casting one’s mind back to 2012, the star played a motorcycle stunt rider who robbed banks to support his baby mama in The Place Beyond the Pines.
But this time, he’ll be sporting a flaming skull and the demonic Hellfire Chain.
The last time Ghost Rider haunted the big screen was back in 2007, when Nicolas Cage famously rocked the leather jacket-wearing antihero.
It also famously flopped.
This new go-around gives Marvel the chance to do something truly special with the character, allowing the demon cyclist to play in a world it has spent decades building.
The film will be directed by Shawn Levy, with the screenplay helmed by Jonathan Tropper.
Both worked alongside Gosling on Star Wars: Starfighter.
The standalone film is expected to drop in 2028, with Gosling playing “a character I’ve wanted to play for a long time”.
Now, fanboys who are convinced that ‘Ryan Gosling is literally me’ can add a flaming-skulled bikie to the list of characters the star has played.
