Ryan Gosling Asked The Russo Brothers If He Could Join The MCU
This won't be like La La Land, Ryan!
He played a Blade Runner, a Space Age icons, and he’s about play a Ken doll. But now the Oscar-nominated actor Ryan Gosling wants in on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to a new interview, he’s tapped some friends to help him get there, and he already knows who he wants to play.
While promoting his upcoming Netflix action thriller The Gray Man, Ryan Gosling told Extra he was hoping the directors of that film — Joe and Anthony Russo — would help him land a part in the MCU. The admission came out when the interviewer mentioned that the Russos worked Ken doll jokes into The Gray Man before Gosling was even cast as Ken in the upcoming Barbie film. She half-jokingly hinted the Russos had “manifested” his Ken casting, and asked if Gosling thought they might do something similar in the MCU. “I think they felt my Kenergy,” Gosling said, fusing together “Ken” and “energy.” He continued, “They must have felt it before I did… I hope they can manifest this MCU thing… I think that would be cool.”
CBR says that while Ryan Gosling has denied any reports that he’s been cast as the space-faring Marvel hero Nova, that he would be interested in taking up the fiery mantle of Ghost Rider. Gabriel Luna played the the Robbie Reyes version of the character in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He was supposed to reprise the role for his own solo series on Hulu, but plans for that were later canceled. There are multiple versions of Ghost Rider, however, including Johnny Blaze who Nicolas Cage played in the non-MCU 2007 film Ghost Rider and its 2011 follow-up Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.
It certainly does seem like an opportune time to reintroduce a character like Ghost Rider into the MCU, whether he’s played by Ryan Gosling or not. With Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange now being one of the MCU’s mainstays, Oscar Isaac debuting as Moon Knight this year, Kit Harington showing up as Dane Whitman (presumably the future Black Knight) in last year’s Eternals, and Mahershala Ali’s Blade on the way; Marvel is working hard to showcase its dark and mystic properties, which is exactly where Ghost Rider fits.
Of course, if Ryan Gosling is aiming to sport Ghost Rider’s flaming skull, he won’t get it without competition. Norman Reedus of The Walking Dead fame has made no secret of his interest in rebooting the property for the MCU. While talking to Business Insider in February, Reedus didn’t confirm he’d been cast as Marvel’s Spirit of Vengeance, but when asked he did respond, “Fingers crossed,” suggesting something was in the works.
Of course if Norman Reedus does manage to win out over Ryan Gosling in the race for Ghost Rider, it won’t be like the La La Land star will be left out in the cold. Next year’s star-studded Barbie is expected to be one of the biggest flicks of the year, not to mention Gosling will star as the eponymous anti-hero of the upcoming Wolfman reboot.
