Ryan Gosling Wants To Play Ghost Rider In The MCU

Ryan Gosling expresses interest in being the next person to play Marvel's Ghost Rider.

By Doug Norrie | Updated

ryan gosling

Ryan Gosling took a few years off from acting but he’s about to come back to the scene in a big way. The dude has a huge Netflix flick about to hit the streamer this week and he’s also teaming up with Margot Robbie for an iconic set of characters. But could he be headed to the Marvel Cinematic Universe? It certainly looks like he may want to and it would be for one of the best characters that the studio has to offer. Can you picture this guy on a motorcycle with a flaming head coming at you straight from hell? It certainly could be a possibility now based on what Ryan Gosling recently had to say about it. It’s looking like he wants to play Ghost Rider for the MCU.

This Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider new comes from Josh Horowitz of the Happy Sad Confused Podcast (via CBR) who says he’d been in contact with Ryan Gosling about potential Marvel roles. Originally, there had been rumors Gosling was headed to the MCU as Nova, though the actor through cold water on that idea. But after saying Nova wasn’t in the works for him, Ryan Gosling did just come out and tell Horowitz that he’d want to play Johnny Blaze/ Ghost Rider. Check out what Horowitz had to say about it.

Wanting to play a Marvel character and getting to play a Marvel character are two entirely different things. That being said, Ryan Gosling isn’t just any actor. Even with the break from the business for a few years to raise kids and spend time with family, he’s still about as in demand as it comes. One would think that him signaling a desire to play a specific character in the MCU would rate a little higher than most others saying it.

On that front, we’ll have to wait and see. But there’s been plenty of speculation around who could actually play Ghost Rider when the time comes for Marvel. A number of different folks have been speculated to take the part including Norman Reedus, Keanu Reeves, and even Gabriel Luna returning to the role. It’s been rumored that Marvel could have multiple versions of the character in the MCU. So maybe Ryan Gosling and others?

We’ve already gotten one version of Ghost Rider on the big screen in the form of Nicolas Cage who starred as Johnny Blaze in two films. Those were Ghost Rider and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. While somewhat synonymous with the character in movie form, no doubt Marvel would be taking a different tone with their version of the character. But they’ve been sitting on it for a while, the rights to Ghost Rider reverted back to Marvel all the way back in 2013. So it’s been almost a decade with seemingly very little movement on this front.

Ghost Rider casting aside, Ryan Gosling has plenty on his plate right now. He’s set to star in Netflix’s The Gray Man opposite Chris Evans. It will debut on the streamer on July 15th and is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. It looks high-action and high-octane. And he’s also set to play Ken in the upcoming Barbie movie with Margot Robbie. Two very different roles but he appears perfect for each. Maybe the flaming skull is next.