Marvel Studios used its San Diego Comic-Con panel to confirm two rumored casting news, revealing Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider and David Jonsson as the new Black Panther, while Ryan Reynolds stormed the stage in full Deadpool costume to vie for a role in Avengers: Doomsday.
Studio president Kevin Feige introduced Gosling to loud cheers in Hall H, ending years of speculation about the actor’s potential MCU involvement.
“Wow, is this really happening?” Gosling told the crowd. “As you know, this is a character I’ve wanted to play for a very long time.”
The film, due out in 2028, reunites Gosling with Shawn Levy, who is currently working with him on Star Wars: Starfighter.
Levy told the Hall H audience that he and Gosling spent much of their downtime on that shoot “daydreaming about Ghost Rider and trading ideas.”
The role was previously played by Nicolas Cage in two Sony films released in 2007 and 2011.
Ryan Coogler also took the stage to confirm Black Panther 3to be released on December 15, 2028, starring David Jonsson as T’Challa II, the son of Chadwick Boseman’s original T’Challa and Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia, who was introduced at the end of 2022’s Wakanda Forever.
Jonsson, recently seen in Alien: Romulus and The long walkaddressed the crowd with visible emotion: “Thank you to this family that I have the honor and blessing to join.”
The biggest surprise of the night came when Ryan Reynolds appeared unannounced in the crowd in a gray, comically accurate Deadpool costume, introducing himself in character as “Ricky” before interrogating. Avengers: Doomsday cast about a potential role.
“First question is for Mr Paul Rudd,” he said.
“Where is Thor and why was he crying?” — a nod to a scene from Deadpool and Wolverine.
After further pointing out the film’s shooting schedule, Reynolds signed off in character: “So there’s no additional photography, no overshoots, no last-minute additions? No further questions.”
Reynolds later confirmed the stunt on Instagram, dubbing the costumed alter ego “Jeanpool.”
His involvement in Doomsday remains formally unconfirmed by Marvel.
The panel also included a first look at Avengers: Doomsdaydue December 18, together with news about 2019 Avengers: Endgame returns to theaters on September 25 with new footage linking it to the upcoming film.
