Marvel Studios used its Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 to announce a batch of major casting and release-date news. The biggest reveal: Ryan Gosling is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ghost Rider. Gosling will play Johnny Blaze, the supernatural horror hero also known as Ghost Rider, in a standalone film directed by Shawn Levy, set for release sometime in 2028. The casting was a surprise during the Hall H panel, confirmed by both The Verge and Marvel's official announcement. The Hollywood Reporter identified the character as Johnny Blaze specifically.

Ghost Rider is the first supernatural-horror character to get a confirmed standalone film in the current version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — the interconnected series of films Marvel has been building since 2008. The character has appeared in Marvel films before, but not within the main interconnected universe. This time, Johnny Blaze enters the main MCU with a major star and an established director already attached. Levy's involvement brings in a filmmaker experienced with large studio productions, and the 2028 release window places the film after Avengers: Doomsday.

Ryan Coogler will return to direct Black Panther III, officially dated for December 15, 2028. Coogler took the stage to make the announcement, and Marvel published its own confirmation alongside the presentation. David Jonsson was introduced as T'Challa's son and the new Black Panther, appearing on stage with Coogler. That casting positions the third film around a generational handoff — the son of the previous Black Panther taking on the role.

Both Ghost Rider and Black Panther III are set for 2028, placing them close together in Marvel's upcoming film calendar. Black Panther III's December 15, 2028 date gives it a holiday-weekend release slot, which the franchise has used before. Ghost Rider's looser "sometime in 2028" framing means its exact release date has not been set yet.

Marvel also showed a new trailer for Avengers: Doomsday during the panel. The film is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who are returning to direct the Avengers series after previously making several of its highest-grossing entries. The trailer was part of the same Hall H presentation covered by The Verge.

A lighter moment came when Ryan Reynolds appeared in the crowd in character as Deadpool and asked the Russo brothers whether there was room for him in Avengers: Doomsday. The Russos said the film was basically done but that they might work something out. Whether that leads to an actual on-screen appearance is an open question, but the moment played well to the Hall H audience and kept the Deadpool franchise's comedic style visible within the larger MCU event.

Hayley Atwell is also confirmed to return as Peggy Carter in the MCU, per The Verge. Atwell's character has appeared across multiple MCU films, and her return adds another link from earlier phases into the current lineup.

The Walt Disney Company published its official press release about Marvel Studios' Comic-Con 2026 announcements on July 25, 2026. Marvel's own Hall H recap is also available.

The broader context here is that Marvel's 2028 calendar is starting to take shape. Two confirmed films, Black Panther III and Ghost Rider, now anchor a year that falls after Avengers: Doomsday. The introduction of David Jonsson as the new Black Panther and the casting of Gosling as Johnny Blaze are decisions about which characters Marvel will build future films around. For Marvel, the Comic-Con approach of stacking surprise reveals, release dates, and star appearances in a single Hall H panel continues to work as the company's most effective single-event marketing tool. The range of this year's announcements — a new supernatural franchise, a legacy sequel, an Avengers film, and returning characters from earlier phases — points to a production pipeline running at full capacity heading into the late 2020s.