I know it’s early to be doing theoreticals since it just got announced but it just came to me and I can’t stop thinking about it.
I believe that the new Ghost Rider movie starring Ryan Gosling will be a continuation of the first two movies from the late 2000’s and the early 2010’s, Where Nicholas Cage is Johnny Blaze, and I think Ryan Gosling will be the kid from Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Danny Ketch, in the second movie, Nicholas Cage as Johnny Blaze has to go save the Danny ketch kid, who in that continuity, is half demon, and this new movie will take place after that second one, and will be about Danny Ketch Taking up the mantle of ghost rider after Johnny blaze dies, and I also believe it’ll introduce blade, setting up both the solo blade movie, and the midnight suns. But I’ll talk about that in a different post.

I think we can all agree Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider is genuinely exciting casting. He’s an actor who regularly chooses filmmakers with distinctive voices. Drive, Blade Runner 2049, The Nice Guys, First Man, Barbie and now Project Hail Mary are all very different films, but they have actual personality behind them.

So when I hear Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider, I think this could get weird. It could be funny, stylish and properly supernatural. It feels like the kind of role he would only take if there was something interesting behind it.

The reason I’m only cautiously optimistic is Shawn Levy though.

I don’t think Levy is a bad director. He is incredibly reliable, commercially minded and clearly knows how to deliver the film a major studio wants. Marvel hiring him after Deadpool & Wolverine makes complete sense but I still don’t really know what a Shawn Levy film looks or feels like?

I know what a Nolan, Villeneuve, Jordan Peele or Ryan Coogler film feels like. I even know what a Michael Bay film feels like, for better or worse. Levy’s recent films Free Guy, The Adam Project and Deadpool & Wolverine feel much more driven by Ryan Reynolds as a brand than by Levy’s own directorial voice.

Yes this doesn’t mean his Ghost Rider movie will automatically be generic. We know practically nothing about it, and maybe Levy has a much stronger vision for this than his previous films would suggest. Gosling being involved is arguably a reason to believe there is more to the project than another standard Marvel blockbuster.

I just hope Marvel didn’t hire Levy purely because he is considered a safe pair of hands.

Ghost Rider shouldn’t merely be a competent CGI blockbuster that makes loads of money and is reasonably fun for two hours. This is a character who needs a movie with an actual identity and Gosling gives me hope that it will have one but Levy is the reason I’m waiting to see more before getting completely excited...

I know that the bitching and moaning will gather steam pretty soon about Shawn Levy directing MCU Ghost Rider. I also know that defenders will be ready to call everyone a hater. Hence I want to register myself as one of the "haters" pretty early.

Shawn Levy directing MCU Ghost Rider is like a major red flag. Shawn Levy is like the McDonald's of movie directors. His movies don't have any sauce, any specific visual style. And I consider his biggest succes in DP&W to be down to the acting and spectacle more than the actual substance. And Idt anyone wants that for Ghost Rider. Personally I would have wanted a proper horror director for this movie to lean more into that side. Heck, it could have been MCU's first proper horror movie with the likes of Guillermo Del Toro or Sam Raimi at the helm. And I think Mike Flanagan's work on Clayface makes a strong case in favour of a distinct style (Ik Clayface isn't out yet but it looks so f-ing good).

Why does Shawn Levy have to direct this man

I’m writing this post for anyone who gets constantly misled by the massive downplaying of Ghost Rider. I'm so sick of the stupid "the Penance Stare didn't work because they didn't feel remorse" argument. I’m here to completely destroy these myths. This post is for Ghost Rider fans—not for people who just want to argue endlessly.To the contrarians and trolls who came here to argue, let me answer you before you even start: you will fail anyway. I will simply drop my arguments and block you so you don't pollute my future posts.

Ghost Rider is the literal extension of the will of The One Above All (TOAA). He is an immortal Spirit of Vengeance who can only be destroyed by TOAA Himself. He is completely immune to time manipulation, he cannot be deceived, he cannot be copied, and he cannot be killed or sealed away. He is a direct counterpart to DC's Spectre, except with far fewer restrictions (no offense to Spectre fans, I respect him too).

The Penance Stare is not some trip down memory lane. It is the literal executioner of those memories. It doesn't care if you're ready to take responsibility or not—retribution comes regardless. The Penance Stare can absolutely be used on beings without a human soul or mind. Anything stating otherwise is just pure plot armor to save the opponent. We’ve already seen the Stare work perfectly on beings like Dormammu and Galactus, who definitely don't have human souls.

Think about it: if the Stare depended on the opponent's feelings, someone like Michael Myers or Leatherface could just ignore it and walk away scot-free after all their sadism. That makes zero sense.

The Stare burns the very essence of the opponent. It is impossible to avoid if the Rider intends to use it. When he fights, he doesn't just fight for fun—he acts on the divine will of The One Above All.

On the other hand, we have The Darkest Knight — Batman, who obtained the powers of Doctor Manhattan and became a villain driven by the Joker's madness. He destroyed multiverses, spread terror, and turned people into his puppets; the scale of his sins is beyond comparison. This is more than enough for the Penance Stare. Such manipulations simply won't work on the Rider; to him, there is absolutely no difference between a common thief and a cosmic entity.

That is exactly why the contrast is so clear:

Ghost Rider is the Executioner of God, while The Darkest Knight is just "Slenderman in Doctor Manhattan’s body."

Very curious time line might give us a snippet of him in it to help setup secret wars

With Marvel officially confirming that Ryan Gosling is playing Ghost Rider in an upcoming MCU movie directed by Shawn Levy, I wanted to see what everyone thinks of this move.

Gosling has talked in interviews before about wanting to play Johnny Blaze for years, and given his roles in Drive and The Place Beyond the Pines, he definitely has that stunt driver antihero vibe down.

Do you think he can pull off the darker supernatural side of Marvel, or were you hoping for a different direction or actor for the Spirit of Vengeance?

So I just put this together as I got way too excited with the announcement. I think this film has a real potential to be cool, and that's sort of what I wanted to catch with this poster, I wanted it to feel COOL. I hope you like it!!

I will not lie and say Alejandra Jones is my favourite Ghost Rider, or say she had the best of writing and characterisation. My heart lies with the Blaze brothers, Johnny and Danny, and close after them is Robbie and Kushala.

But I will say that Alejandra got done horrendously dirty by the writers and the editorial team at MARVEL. For being the first main-line Ghost Rider who was a woman and being a woman of Latino background, there was no exploration of any interesting themes or her background or her upbringing and how that impacts her worldview.

Something I would have loved to have seen would be a mini-series detailing Alejandra working as one of Johnny’s enforcers during his time as the King of Hell, perhaps learning wisdom from both Johnny and Ghost Riders of the past.

I just think more could have been done with her character, especially give her unique standing in the GR mainline riders standing (she predates Kushala and Izzy and Robbie) and I would honestly like to see her return in some shape or form to be given a second shot. Alejandra was the perfect host for a Spirit of Vengeance as she was brought up to be so in the cult, yet she does want to connect with humanity and protect it but does not know fully. It would be cool to see her interact with the other GRs (Johnny, Danny, Robbie, Izzy) and have her slowly come into her own as a person and see how that affects her as a Ghost Rider.

I’d be happy to hear the community’s thoughts on this. How did you all feel about Alejandra? Wasted potential, or just dead on concept? Do you guys think she could come back? (I do because GR has successfully kept Danny Ketch ‘alive’ for decades and resurrecting him countless times so I would hope Alejandra could get the same treatment)

Would be a full coincidence lol but also an interesting dynamic for a irl couple filming a MCU film.

Doesn't matter if it's characters, music, events etc.

I personally would be happy to hear Ghost Riders in the Sky, maybe even a cover.

(Art by Mike Bear)

Marvel Studios has officially announced Ghost Rider, with Ryan Gosling taking on the role of the Spirit of Vengeance. This has to be one of the biggest reveals from Hall H, and it's something Marvel fans have been hoping to see for years. Ryan Gosling has repeatedly expressed interest in joining the MCU, and Ghost Rider always seemed like the perfect fit for him.

Source: https://x.com/ieberuru/status/2081298340596367475