Connor Storrie is in talks to star opposite Ryan Gosling in Marvel Studios’ “Ghost Rider”, according to The Hollywood Reporter. THR reported the talks on October 27th and describes the part as a villain without saying which one. Marvel has not confirmed the talks, and Deadline says reps for the studio declined to comment. Deadline adds that its own sources confirmed Storrie is “circling a role” in the film. Shawn Levy is directing from a script by Jonathan Tropper, and Marvel has the movie dated for July 28th, 2028.
Storrie, a Texas native, is best known for “Heated Rivalry”, where he plays the Russian hockey star Ilya Rozanov. THR calls “Ghost Rider” his first big project since he became famous and notes that a year ago he was an unknown actor who supported himself as a waiter. Variety adds that, as the story goes, he was waiting tables at Laurel Grill in Culver City before he was offered the “Heated Rivalry” role. Knight Edge Media ran its own exclusive on the talks the same day. It stresses that the deal is not done and says Storrie was offered the role without an audition. Both details come from Knight Edge. Warning beyond this point there are spoilers for “Ironheart” and “Joker: Folie à Deux.”
THR calls “Ghost Rider” his first big project since he became famous and notes that a year ago he was an unknown actor who supported himself as a waiter.”
The villain question is the real story. THR says the character “did not exactly have a signature villain” but did have “a coterie of demonic antagonists.” Marvel has already used Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen) on television, since the Disney+ series “Ironheart” introduced him to the MCU. THR says the villains in the Sony-made Nicolas Cage films included Mephisto and his son, Blackheart, whom Wes Bentley played in 2007. In the comics Johnny Blaze makes his deal with Mephisto to save his father. A film that skips the devil has to explain that bargain some other way. Cohen has said he has “no idea” about the project, according to Gizmodo. Variety ties the two questions together: Marvel has not confirmed which version of Ghost Rider Gosling plays, so it is also unclear which villain Storrie would embody. Knight Edge says it heard the new film “will have its own villain and not jump right into Mephisto”. It compares that to 2007, when Blackheart was the main villain. That claim is Knight Edge’s alone. Some follow-up stories call Storrie the main villain. THR’s report does not. Whatever the answer is, it puts a fresh face across from Gosling. It also leaves Marvel two clean paths: bring the devil back as the boss, or build a new threat and keep him offstage.
Gosling’s side is not fully settled either. Marvel announced him as Ghost Rider at San Diego Comic-Con on July 25th. Kevin Feige joked on stage that he had long been asked when Ghost Rider and Gosling might join the MCU. Gosling told the crowd: “As you know, this is a character I’ve wanted to play for a very long time.” He also said that “only one director” could bring Ghost Rider to the screen and welcomed Levy to the stage. Marvel has not said which version of the hero he plays, though THR says it is presumed he is Johnny Blaze. That is the stunt motorcyclist Cage played in 2007 and 2011. Eva Mendes, Gosling’s partner, co-starred in the first film. Blaze first appeared in the fifth issue of “Marvel Spotlight” in 1972, in a story from writer Gary Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog. Feige told ComicBook.com that Gosling is “a huge fan of the comics” and came to the studio with “a specific vision, based on some particular comics” for the role. Cage’s films were made at Sony. Variety says the rights later reverted to Marvel Studios, which put another rider on screen: Robbie Reyes (Gabriel Luna) in “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Variety notes that Gosling will be the second actor to play the Spirit of Vengeance in a film after Cage. It adds that Luna’s standalone Hulu series was scrapped in 2019.
THR says the film “came together rather quickly” and was announced as a surprise at Comic-Con in July. Levy directed Marvel Studios’ “Deadpool & Wolverine” in 2024 and then made “Star Wars: Starfighter” with Gosling and Tropper. He told the Comic-Con crowd that he and Gosling spent downtime on that set swapping ideas for “Ghost Rider” until he finally said: “Bro, let’s ride.” “Starfighter” opens on May 28th, 2027. Production on “Ghost Rider” is planned for New York in 2027. THR reports, citing sources, that “Dune: Part Three” cinematographer Linus Sandgren has been hired and that the film will shoot on film. Feige produces with Louis D’Esposito, Stephen Broussard, Levy and Gosling. Richie Palmer and Jessie Henderson are the executive producers. On the calendar the film arrives after “Avengers: Doomsday” on December 18th, 2026 and “Avengers: Secret Wars” on December 17th, 2027. It falls between the “X-Men” reboot on May 5th, 2028 and “Black Panther 3” on December 15th, 2028. Marvel announced that third “Black Panther” film at the same Hall H panel and named David Jonsson as the new Black Panther.
Storrie is not new to comic-book films, because he played the inmate who kills Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) at the end of “Joker: Folie à Deux” in 2024. Variety says he has a supporting role opposite Billie Eilish in Sarah Polley’s “The Bell Jar” for Focus Features, and THR says he has already filmed it. Deadline also lists Craig Zobel’s “Turpentine” with Melissa McCarthy and A24’s “Please” from Halina Reijn among his upcoming projects. The attention around him is large. Deadline says he has had “his pick of projects” since the show’s November 2025 debut. THR says that in a little more than seven months after the premiere he and Hudson Williams presented at the Golden Globes, carried the Olympic torch and made their Met Gala debut. THR adds that Storrie has landed brand ambassador deals with Saint Laurent and Tiffany & Co. He also hosted “Saturday Night Live” on February 28th with Mumford & Sons as the musical guest. Williams joined him for a sketch, and the episode earned him his first Emmy nomination. Storrie is represented by CAA, according to THR and Variety.
The breakout is recent. “Heated Rivalry” arrived on November 28th, 2025 on Crave in Canada and on HBO Max in the United States. Creator Jacob Tierney based the six-episode first season on Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” book series. Storrie plays Ilya Rozanov opposite Williams as Shane Hollander, two rival stars of Major League Hockey. THR says Crave renewed the show early in its first run, and Variety says the second season is filming now for a spring release on HBO Max. THR says it adapts the fifth book, “Role Model”, along with “The Long Game”, the next novel about Shane and Ilya.
Marvel’s own page for the film lists Levy as director and Gosling as the only cast member, and three things remain open. Marvel has not named Storrie’s character, announced a deal or said which Ghost Rider Gosling plays. Variety notes that Marvel Studios does not comment on casting. The next marker is a Marvel statement or a report that a deal has been signed.
What Do You Think? Should “Ghost Rider” invent a new villain, or bring Mephisto back for the devil’s bargain? Is a “Heated Rivalry” star the right face for an enemy of the Spirit of Vengeance? And does Marvel owe fans an answer on which Ghost Rider Gosling is playing before it fills out the cast?
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