Marvel Studios used its Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 to confirm a string of major casting and release-date announcements. The headline: Ryan Gosling is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ghost Rider. Gosling will play Johnny Blaze — the original version of the supernatural horror character — in a standalone MCU film directed by Shawn Levy and targeted for release sometime in 2028. The reveal came during the Hall H presentation and was confirmed by both The Verge and Marvel's official announcement. The Hollywood Reporter identified the character as Johnny Blaze specifically.

The Ghost Rider project is the first supernatural-horror title to get a confirmed standalone film in the current MCU structure. The character has appeared in Marvel films before, in earlier non-MCU versions, but this is the first time Johnny Blaze enters the mainline cinematic universe with an A-list lead and an established director attached. Levy's involvement connects the film to a filmmaker with a track record on large studio productions, and the 2028 window places it after Avengers: Doomsday, in what Marvel calls its post-Doomsday phase.

Ryan Coogler will return to direct Black Panther III, officially dated for December 15, 2028. Coogler announced the news on stage, and Marvel published its own confirmation alongside the panel. 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 within the Wakandan storyline, with the character established as the son of the previous Black Panther.

Both Ghost Rider and Black Panther III landing in 2028 places them as adjacent entries in Marvel's Phase 6 or early Phase 7 calendar. Black Panther III's December 15, 2028 date gives it a holiday-weekend slot that the franchise has occupied before. Ghost Rider's looser "sometime in 2028" framing leaves its exact placement to be set later.

Marvel also debuted a new trailer for Avengers: Doomsday during the panel. The film is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who are returning to the MCU's flagship Avengers franchise after directing several of its highest-grossing entries. The trailer reveal 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 Russos 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 exchange translates into an actual on-screen appearance is an open question, but the bit played naturally to the Hall H audience and kept the Deadpool franchise's meta-comedic style visible within the broader MCU event cycle.

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

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

The broader context here is that Marvel's 2028 calendar is taking on a clearer structure. Two confirmed films, Black Panther III and Ghost Rider, now anchor a year that falls after the Russos' Avengers: Doomsday, positioning both as part of the post-Avengers landscape. The introduction of David Jonsson as the new Black Panther and the casting of Gosling as Johnny Blaze are character-architecture decisions that will ripple through multiple films. For Marvel, the Comic-Con formula of stacking surprise reveals, release-date confirmations, and star appearances in a single Hall H panel continues to function as the company's most effective single-event marketing instrument. The breadth of this year's announcements — a new supernatural franchise, a legacy sequel, an Avengers tentpole, and returning characters across phases — signals a pipeline operating at full capacity heading into the late 2020s.