Robert Downey Jr. reacts to Ryan Gosling joining the MCU as Ghost Rider

San Diego Comic-Con has coughed up its annual stack of reveals, but this one's a bit of a wild card — Ryan Gosling is going full leather-and-flames as Ghost Rider in a new Marvel film, with Shawn Levy (the bloke behind Free Guy and Deadpool 3) steering the whole thing. But before anyone gets their exhaust fumes in a twist, you might be wondering what the Marvel old guard think of all this. Well, Robert Downey Jr. has weighed in, and he's got thoughts that only an A-lister with a bit too much time on his hands could come up with.

Downey Jr.'s wild team-up idea

Entertainment Weekly got Downey Jr. on the record about Gosling kitting up as Ghost Rider, and he sounds genuinely chuffed — but, naturally, can't resist pitching a crossover that sounds like comic book fever-dream logic in the best way possible. Here's what he actually suggested:

Downey said he wants Gosling and Spider-Noir with Nic to come back in, and be a motorcycle and sidecar.

If that needs some unpacking: Nicolas Cage was, of course, the last bloke to throw on the flaming skull as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider (in two, frankly, not brilliant movies), but lately there's been more genuine talk of him joining the current Marvel Multiverse setup. Now Downey Jr. reckons it would be even funnier if Cage came back as Spider-Noir — the trenchcoat-wearing offbeat Spider-Man variant Cage recently voiced in Spider-Verse — and ended up literally in the sidecar alongside Gosling's Ghost Rider. Apparently, this is how A-list actors amuse themselves between blockbusters.

Nic Cage nearly made a Marvel cameo this year

Perhaps the weirdest near-miss in this story is that Nicolas Cage nearly put the Ghost Rider jacket back on much sooner for the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine shenanigans. According to Ryan Reynolds, who's been harassing half of Hollywood for cameos:

Reynolds admitted it "came to a conversation for sure, but no."

So instead of Cage rolling in with a flaming bike, the film will have to settle for its already bonkers cameo roster. Honestly, it forgot to happen by Marvel standards — Cage will have to keep his multiverse passport handy for another chance down the line.

Gosling landed Ghost Rider by pure graft

This casting isn't the sort of thing Marvel just phones up your agent with on a random Tuesday. Ryan Gosling has allegedly spent years, in and out of interviews, saying he wants a shot at Ghost Rider. Turns out he didn't just talk a good game — he put together an actual pitch, winning over director Levy first, then Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige. Feige summed it up like this to Empire:

Feige said, "It was Gosling who had the vision. It was Gosling who had the pitch that won over Shawn, that had them come and pitch us this idea, which led to us on stage today."

The resulting Ghost Rider film is officially marked for 2028. Yes, that's a long way off, even by the usual Marvel slow-cooker standards.

The new Ghost Rider film will hit cinemas in 2028.

Marvel gives its release schedule a breather

Meanwhile, after Avengers: Doomsday lands later this year, Marvel is putting the brakes on its usual constant stream of films. There won't be another Marvel flick in cinemas until Avengers: Secret Wars opens on 17 December 2027. Kevin Feige says this slower pace is intentional, to stop the brand feeling stretched and get back to what they like calling "quality". If you believe the company line, this is about making the big films feel big again — especially Avengers and the post-Secret Wars wave.

Feige also threw in that 2028's slate, so far, includes only two projects they've made public: Ghost Rider and Panther III — but you can bet they've got more up their sleeve for when the multiverse dust settles.