The Heated Rivalry breakout is reportedly in line for the film's villain, and Marvel does not comment on casting.
Connor Storrie is in talks to co-star with Ryan Gosling in Marvel Studios' Ghost Rider, Variety reported on 27 October. Deadline's sources have confirmed that he is circling a role, and he is reportedly the film's villain. Deadline says The Hollywood Reporter broke the news first.
Marvel has yet to confirm which version of Ghost Rider Gosling will play. Deadline says the studio's reps declined to comment, and Variety notes that Marvel Studios does not comment on casting. Variety and THR both say it is unclear which villain Storrie would play.
Shawn Levy is directing from a script by Jonathan Tropper, the screenwriter of Star Wars: Starfighter, where Levy and Gosling worked together. Levy made his Marvel Studios debut with Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024, which TheWrap says is the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, at $1.33 billion worldwide.
Storrie broke out with Heated Rivalry, the HBO Max hockey drama in which he plays a Russian player opposite Hudson Williams. Variety says, as the story goes, that Storrie was waiting tables at Laurel Grill in Culver City before that role. A second season is now filming and will premiere on HBO Max next spring, according to Variety. His Saturday Night Live hosting gig earned him an Emmy nomination, and Deadline lists more projects ahead: The Bell Jar for Focus Features, Craig Zobel's thriller Turpentine opposite Melissa McCarthy, and A24's Please from Halina Reijn.
Ghost Rider is the alter ego of Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist who makes a deal with the demon Mephisto, Deadline says. The character first appeared in Marvel Spotlight No. 5 in 1972. Nicolas Cage played him in the 2007 film Ghost Rider and its 2011 sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Eva Mendes, who is married to Gosling, starred in the first film, TheWrap notes.
For years, Gosling had been Marvel fans' top choice for the part, Variety reports. When Marvel announced the film at San Diego Comic-Con this summer, Gosling told the crowd:
"As you know, this is a character I've wanted to play for a very long time."
THR says it is presumed that Gosling is playing Johnny Blaze. Gabriel Luna played a younger, Latino version of the character, Robby Reyes, on ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Mephisto was introduced to the MCU in the Disney+ series Ironheart, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, Variety notes.
The film will shoot in New York next year and is slated for release on July 28, 2028.
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