Ryan Gosling's Ghost Rider, Black Panther 3 and the Mutant Saga: My Marvel Hall H Predictions

Ahead of Marvel Studios' Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2026, Ryan Gosling had apparently been cast as Ghost Rider. My read going in was that the casting pointed to either Avengers: Secret Wars or Midnight Suns, and I expected Black Panther 3 for sure, an X-Men logo for sure and massive cast announcements.

Ryan Gosling's Ghost Rider Pointed To Secret Wars Or Midnight Suns

Daniel RPK was early on the Ghost Rider news, and with him saying Ryan Gosling was playing the character, I supposed that meant we were getting at least a cast introduction. I also said I knew for sure Marvel was not making a Ghost Rider movie. To me that left one of two things: either Gosling would be introduced in a vacuum, or he would be introduced as part of the cast for a film.

As I saw it, there were really only two films he could be cast for. One was Avengers: Secret Wars, which I called highly likely, because we had been saying he might be the secret character industry insiders had been talking about. The other was Midnight Suns. I thought either would be a hype announcement. I want Ghost Rider in Secret Wars, so I would take that, but I would also take a Midnight Suns confirmation.

Black Panther 3, An X-Men Logo And The Start Of The Mutant Saga

My reasoning for a bigger slate came down to timing. I did not think Marvel would be at San Diego Comic-Con the following year, because their pattern has been to skip every other year, and they do not go in between Avengers films, when hype is at an all-time high and they do not want to reveal anything. If they skipped the next year, this was the last chance to announce the X-Men reboot or any of these movies anyway. I also felt they had played it close enough to the vest over two or three years, without giving us new titles, that maybe they felt safe giving us a year or two.

So my prediction was that if we got some sort of slate, it would be Phase Seven and the Mutant Saga, with Marvel saying both of those things. We might possibly get the first four titles for 2028 and 2029, which may look like Black Panther 3, the X-Men reboot, Deadpool 4 if the industry insiders are right, and one little freebie. That could be Midnight Suns, Nova or Shang-Chi 2.

Why I Did Not Buy Captain Hydra Or A Kang Return In Avengers: Doomsday

Asked whether the Captain America that Loki's scepter was used on in the branch timeline becomes Captain Hydra, I said I do not like the Captain Hydra stuff and do not think it is legit. I think it is overthinking everything, more of a fan cast, like the fan casting of a famous actor as Superior Iron Man, than it ever was reality. After the Avengers: Doomsday trailer I broke my rule and looked at other creators' coverage, and saw nothing but ridiculous theories: Loki pretending to be Steve, Thor reacting to Loki, Thor reacting to a Doctor Doom who looks like Robert Downey Jr. I think we are all overthinking it, though I may be wrong.

On how Doomsday would address Kang, my answer was that it won't at all. I did not think there were enough plot reasons, money or anything else to make Marvel reference him. "You might as well forget he even existed. That's what Marvel wants you to do." He is not showing up, Loki is not talking about him, and Ant-Man might not even bring him up. On Robert Downey Jr.'s face, they say they are saving that for Secret Wars, and I am fine with it if it is not called for until then. I did not think Scarlet Witch was showing up in Doomsday, though I would not rule out a future return. Asked whether the Sentry is in Doomsday, I answered: "He is." As for Doom's witches, one of them is not Wanda; I named Clea and Doctor Strange, and said another might be Ana de Armas, who was rumored for one of the roles.

The Odds Of Avengers: Doomsday Flopping Looked Slim To Me

If Doomsday flopped, my job would certainly get much harder. The chances are never zero, and I have been wrong before: I did not think anybody would see the Avatar sequels, and I did not think dubstep would last a year or two. Still, I put the odds as very slim. Avengers and X-Men versus Doctor Doom; how can you mess that up? My one worry was dialogue. If Doomsday came out of the gate with busted dialogue like Captain America: Brave New World, I said I would be "a sad panda bear."

On Spider-Man: Brand New Day, someone said the trailer looked and sounded like AI. It did not to me, and I was very hyped for the film. At least they are doing something new; we have not seen this Spider-Man movie before. Tom getting the symbiote at the end is what I was calling.

How I Weigh The Insiders Behind Marvel Scoops

When someone told me a search result had called my work unreliable, I explained that there is pretty much a hierarchy of sources. If it is Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter or Daniel RPK, a lot of what they talk about actually ends up happening, especially with castings and trailers. Then there is a second tier of industry insiders, which does not mean unreliable, just not huge Hollywood trades; I put Charles Murphy in that group. Then come the Twitter scoopsters, some with a reliable record and some without, and then it really falls off with anonymous Reddit and 4chan material.

I have heard this criticism before. Around 2019, a creator called my work clickbait over a summer 2019 piece in which I said Namor was the villain in Black Panther 2. That piece is still up, and I cite my sources.

My Galactus Pitch For Avengers: Judgment Day

When someone found it hard to believe Steve would not step in against Galactus, my point was simple: he is a super soldier, not Captain Marvel or Scarlet Witch. What is he going to do against something that big?

Here is what I think Marvel should do, and I offered to write it for free if Kevin Feige wanted to talk. Kill Galactus in the second Fantastic Four movie with some insane method, perhaps Thor with the Necrosword, banishing him to the heart of a dying star. Then, when Judgment Day comes and Arishem arrives and no one can do anything, have Franklin Richards resurrect Galactus as his herald, as he did in the comics, and defeat Arishem. To me, Avengers 7 Judgment Day writes itself.

Was Ghost Rider a better fit for Secret Wars or for Midnight Suns?

Secret Wars Is the Reboot, Not What Comes After It

Before the panel got going, I was asked whether any of the classic 2000s X-Men actors might turn up in Doomsday or Secret Wars. I am not thinking Secret Wars is going to be the movie where everybody comes back. I think the old guard basically closes out in Doomsday, and then we get the new casting of characters in Secret Wars.

That is why these two films keep being described as so different. Endgame was an end. Secret Wars is the beginning. Instead of waiting until after Secret Wars to do the reboot, we are getting the new Black Panther, a new Ghost Rider, the new Blade and some of the new X-Men in Secret Wars itself. Secret Wars is the reboot. It is not after Secret Wars, it is Secret Wars. So I did not see an older Iceman coming back.

Going into Hall H, I said I just wanted Marvel to come out and announce Damson Idris as the new Black Panther that night. My guess was that this would be the big one: a new Black Panther, a new Ghost Rider, and an announcement that they were part of the Secret Wars cast. I felt that was pretty much going to be it. I also did not expect a long slate stretching out to 2032. I just do not feel like Marvel Studios is ever going to do that again; I think those days have passed.

Ghost, Red Guardian and John Walker Are Toast in Doomsday

Asked whether the Sentry has a big role in the third act of Avengers Doomsday, I said I do think so. Picture Thor standing in a room with the Fantastic Four, who admittedly have some power, alongside a bunch of super soldiers. If anything, Sam's Avengers are worse off, because he and Joaquin Torres do not have any super soldier serum. Sam's Avengers, led by a Captain America, have no Captain Americas, while the Thunderbolts are essentially a bunch of Captain Americas.

My Doomsday death predictions were blunt. Ghost is toast, Red Guardian is toast, and John Walker is toast. I do not think those three are coming back. If you are Red Guardian, David Harbour should already know it going to set that day without even reading the script. I also put the Fox X-Men in the same category, and when someone said they had heard Xavier survives, my answer was no: they are all toast.

Doom Masks and No Broadcast in Hall H

The panel is never broadcast, and this one was no exception. Attendees were allowed to take pictures and video and post live updates, but not to broadcast it, so I was refreshing IGN's live article and social media for news like everyone else. The panel also started late, with reports suggesting a 15 to 30 minute delay.

Once the room was seated, everyone found a Doom mask and a green hood waiting for them. I was jealous and wanted one, but not at the price someone was already asking on eBay: $283.77 for their Hall H Doctor Doom mask, and I was told three had already sold. I am not paying that much for a cheap plastic, Halloween grade mask.

Kevin Feige Opened With Endgame Encore and Vision Quest

According to IGN's live report, Kevin Feige took the stage in a hat bearing an image of Doctor Doom and talked about Marvel's history in Hall H, from the first Avengers cast reveal to Tom Hiddleston appearing in costume as Loki to the Robert Downey Jr. reveal as Doctor Doom two years earlier. He said it all comes back to the comics: "without the comics, no MCU, no movies, no TV shows, no animation, nothing." He is right.

Next came the Avengers: Endgame re-release. Feige showed a trailer for Endgame Encore, which recut old footage with text on screen and opened with theatre audiences erupting at the portals scene, and he said it would carry an exclusive look at Avengers Doomsday. I knew they would talk about that, because they always do, and we already knew most of it. He also asked the crowd about X-Men '97 to plenty of cheers and mentioned Vision Quest, the Disney+ series that was due in October and serves as the third part of the WandaVision trilogy. Feige said he was mainly there to talk about MCU movies.

Ryan Gosling's Ghost Rider Was the Big Surprise

Then came the sauce. Ryan Gosling was officially confirmed as Ghost Rider in the MCU, with the logo revealed in Hall H and the film set for 2028. Who had that on their bingo card? Not me. It was a big one, and it felt like Marvel had said: here is Endgame Encore, now here is Phase 7. They did not even spend much time on Doomsday before moving on.

Shawn Levy was announced to direct, which I think is really cool. Levy did Deadpool, so a Shawn Levy Ghost Rider with Ryan Gosling is something I am down for. I was stoked. It is a good time to be alive. Ghost Rider is really cool, and I am for it.

I had no idea who the villain in Ghost Rider would be, but maybe this is leading into the Midnight Suns. Jon Bernthal also came on stage to promote Spider-Man: Brand New Day. At that point, mid announcement, I left to start my full breakdown of the panel while it was still going.

With Secret Wars shaping up as the reboot in my view, do you think Gosling's Ghost Rider is being set up for that new era, or for the Midnight Suns?