Two of Marvel’s most high-profile movies in recent years will be here soon, starting with “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” on Friday and followed by “Avengers: Doomsday” in December. But there’s still plenty more in the pipeline from the MCU.
Marvel Studios unveiled some of its plans at San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend, while “Doomsday” stars got to share the stage to tease what to expect from the upcoming blockbuster. Here are some of the biggest things we learned at this year’s Comic-Con.
Ryan Gosling is making his Marvel debut
Hot off the heels of his sci-fi hit “Project Hail Mary,” and ahead of his starring role in “Star Wars: Starfighter,” Ryan Gosling will be joining yet another cinematic universe — the MCU.
Marvel head Kevin Feige announced during a Comic-Con panel on Saturday that Gosling will be taking on the lead role of “Ghost Rider.”
“This is a character I’ve wanted to play for a very long time,” Gosling told the Comic-Con audience, who greeted the news of Gosling’s casting with “pandemonium,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The movie will be directed by Shawn Levy, who is also directing Gosling in the new “Star Wars” film. Levy and Gosling began discussing ideas for a “Ghost Rider” movie while filming “Starfighter,” ABC News reported.
“As Ryan started talking about his vision for this character, we started riffing,” Levy said, per ABC. “And I finally said, ‘Bro, let’s ride.’ So guys, we’ll see you in 2028.”
Nicolas Cage starred in two previous “Ghost Rider” films in 2007 and 2012, and Gosling’s wife, Eva Mendes, also starred in the first film. The character also appeared in Marvel and ABC’s television series “Agents of Shield,” portrayed by Gabriel Luna.
The new “Ghost Rider” is expected in theaters in 2028.
‘Black Panther 3′ is coming — with a new actor in the lead role
“Black Panther 3″ is on the way, and it will have a new star.
Director Ryan Coogler shared in Saturday’s panel that David Jonsson will be the next Black Panther, who’s the son of the original Black Panther, T’Challa. T’Challa was played by Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer in 2020.
After Boseman’s death, T’Challa’s sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) took the mantle of Black Panther in the 2022 film “Wakanda Forever.” The character of T’Challa’s son was first introduced at the end of that film.
“Thank you to this amazing family that I have the honor and the privilege and the blessing to join,” Jonsson said during the panel, according to NBC News. “I actually don’t want to say too much because I want to let this screen do the talking.”
The film will open in theaters on Dec. 15, 2028.
A new sneak peek of ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
A crowd of “Avengers: Doomsday” stars appeared on stage during Marvel’s panel, including Robert Downey Jr. (who will be taking on a new role as the villainous Doctor Doom), Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, Pedro Pascal and more.
After releasing the first full trailer for the movie last Monday, Marvel shared a new sneak peek with Comic-Con attendees on Saturday. The new footage showed Doctor Doom’s relationship to members of the Fantastic Four, according to Entertainment Weekly.
“He’s always the smartest guy in every world … he used to be different,” Fantastic Four’s Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) said in the footage. “He used to be kind, he used to be caring. … Everything he loved was taken from him. … I knew he was lost, and I did not realize that he was broken.”
The footage also showed a montage of Steve Rogers (Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) with their children, per Entertainment Weekly, and included Doom saying, “All of you have lived stolen lives. You refuse to give them back.”
There were also scenes of a fight between Doom and Thor, as well as Doom gathering an army of Doombots on a battlefield, Collider reported.
Although the trailer released last week didn’t receive the most “enthusiastic” reaction from fans, the energy during Saturday’s panel was “electric” and it “demolished any negativity from days prior,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Avengers: Doomsday” hits theaters Dec. 18.