Marvel Casting Director Says Ryan Gosling Was the "Perfect Choice" for Ghost Rider: Passion, Talent and Shawn Levy

At San Diego Comic-Con this year, Marvel's biggest reveal wasn't related to the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, but rather the legendary Spirit of Vengeance. Ghost Rider was officially revealed to be coming to the MCU in 2028, and even better, the fans were heard, and Ryan Gosling was given the keys to the bike. The moment was the culmination of years of rumors about the Project Hail Mary star's involvement with the studio and his public acknowledgment that he'd most want to play the Brimstone Biker of any Marvel hero. There was more to his casting than just a widespread desire to see him in the iconic role, though.

Getting Ghost Rider right was especially important for the franchise because of how long fans have waited to see him. There was, at one point, going to be a television series bringing back Gabriel Luna as the Robbie Reyes version of the character at Hulu under its own universe, though that never came to be. The movie will now reunite Gosling with Shawn Levy, whose last MCU outing in Deadpool & Wolverine broke records as the superhero giant's first R-rated outing and who worked with the actor on his big-budget Star Wars outing, Star Wars: Starfighter. For Marvel casting director Sarah Finn, all the above factors combined to make the star such an obvious choice.

Speaking with Collider's Aidan Kelley at the Newport Beach Film Festival over the weekend, Finn was asked about Gosling's entry into the MCU and what made him such a perfect fit for Ghost Rider specifically. She cited his passion, first and foremost, as a key factor, though it doesn't hurt that he's a three-time Oscar nominee lauded for his versatility and charisma on-screen. Add in Levy's hand behind the camera, and she feels very confident in the trail the new film is about to blaze.

"He's the perfect choice, first of all, because he's really passionate about playing the role, and that's something that matters; that passionate actors bring to these characters the love for the characters that we feel on-screen. And on top of that, he's an unbelievably talented and versatile actor. So, with the combination of Shawn Levy at the helm, I feel good about this. I feel good about our possibilities here."

'Ghost Rider' Wasn't Even Marvel's Best-Kept Secret of the Year

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Gosling as Ghost Rider was one of the best surprises of the year from Marvel, and the roaring crowd upon the reveal appeared to agree. Despite the occasional slip of the tongue or set photo, the MCU has been fairly airtight with some of its most exciting developments. The most impressive bit of secrecy from 2026, however, is undoubtedly the fact that Sadie Sink was Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day and that she was setting up the next era of the X-Men. While there was plenty of speculation in the lead-up to Tom Holland's latest web-slinging outing that she could be playing the mutant, nothing definitive came out before release that outright confirmed who the Stranger Things star's character was. The fact that viewers went into the film still uncertain who Sink was playing was a bit of a shock to Finn, though she's glad that held because of how well her performance worked in Peter Parker's world.

"I'm a little bit surprised that we managed to, to be honest. In this day and age, it's getting harder and harder to keep things under lock and key. But I think that, without people knowing what the role is, it was very hard for fans to guess ahead of time, so I think that helped. Destin [Daniel Cretton] had an incredible idea for the film, which we all — Sadie, Tom, and Zendaya — everyone was at peak form in the film, and we needed an actress who was going to fit in seamlessly and match well with that. And I'm so happy for Sadie's success in what she was able to do in that film."

Ghost Rider roars into theaters on July 28, 2028. Stay tuned here at Collider for more as the film draws closer to release.