Ryan Gosling is being conspicuously dodgy about his potential role as the MCU Ghost Rider. Is there a reason?
Ryan Gosling is low-key one of the best in show business when it comes to handling the press. Gosling has mastered a public persona schtick that uses his wit and charm as bait for hungry journalists to bit on, as he dodges their question. But, sometimes dodging a question is still a kind of answer to that question – especially when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
A new interview with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt (who star in the new film The Fall Guy) and Happy Sad Confused podcast host Josh Horowitz ventured into MCU territory. See, Gosling’s name has been associated with a potential MCU reboot of the Ghost Rider movie franchise ever since Horowitz single-handedly got that ball rolling.
Back in 2022, Gosling did the Happy Sad Confused Podcast with Horowitz and they discussed rumors that he was in the running to play the MCU character of Nova. Even though he shot down the Nova rumors, Gosling did admit to wanting to play Ghost Rider in the MCU.
That wishful thinking became something else entirely after Horowitz approached Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. Horowitz asked Feige if a Ryan Gosling MCU Ghost Rider role was possible, and Feige didn’t shoot down the idea:
“If Ryan wants to be Ghost Rider, Ryan’s amazing. I’d love to find him a place in the MCU,” Feige told MTV News, jokingly adding that “He dresses up as Ken on Venice Beach and gets more press than any major movie coming out.”
Ryan Gosling Dodges Question about Ghost Rider MCU Role
I’m just trying to help Ryan Gosling to realize his dreams — namely playing Ghost Rider. pic.twitter.com/yHcx1DnkNQ
— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) May 17, 2024
As you can see in the video above, Ryan Gosling (with an assist from Emily Blunt) dodges any kind of answer on the MCU Ghost Rider subject in his latest interview with Horowitz.
That’s more significant than the usual celebrity question dodging because it’s hard to read it as anything but a doge. If there was nothing to it, Gosling would almost certainly have waved it off and killed any possible online chatter; if there is something in the works that hasn’t been announced or finalized yet, then Gosling wouldn’t be able to talk about it – and outright saying “I can’t talk about it,” would be the next best thing to confirmation for fans, pundits and news outlets.
Instead, Gosling and Blunt ran a bit that had Blunt veering into an anecdote about publicly stating that Gosling would never do a superhero flick (which Gosling denies ever saying). It’s hard to believe that the two skilled performers wouldn’t have known before going into an interview with Horowitz that the MCU Ghost Rider subject wouldn’t come up. They call it “media training” for a reason.
While we can’t take away anything concrete from this exchange, we do know that the MCU is in the process of retooling and rebranding after some recent years of stumble. Our eyes are already turning toward Comic-Con 2024, where Marvel Studios may have some big reveals to announce as Deadpool & Wolverine hits hteaters. Could Ryan Gosling’s Ghost Rider be one of them?
MCU Movies and TV shows are streaming on Disney+.
