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Marvel Studios used its Comic-Con International presentation Saturday to announce David Jonsson as the new Black Panther — the son of Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa — and reveal that Ryan Gosling will be playing Ghost Rider, both in films set for release in 2028.
Jonsson joined Oscar-winning Black Panther franchise director Ryan Coogler on stage alongside Letitia Wright and Winston Duke, holding his hand to his chest and smiling broadly. Black Panther III is set for release Dec. 15, 2028.
“Thank you to this family that I have the honor and the blessing to join. I don’t want to say too much, because I want to let the screen do the talking,” said the 32-year-old actor, known for roles in Industry, The Long Walk and Alien: Romulus.
Boseman died in 2020, and ever since 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever revealed that T’Challa had a son, fans have been playing a guessing game of who might take over the mantle, with Damson Idris and Wright in the mix.
The original 2018 Black Panther became the first superhero film to earn a best picture Oscar nomination and made more than $1.3 billion US worldwide, while the sequel earned $850 million.
Ryan Gosling rides into the MCU
Gosling will re-team with his Star Wars: Starfighter director Shawn Levy on Ghost Rider.
“I’m having the greatest flashback vibes being here,” said Levy in reference to his appearance at Hall H two years ago to promote Deadpool & Wolverine, which became a massive hit. “I’ll never forget that night because it was also my real introduction to the greatest fans anywhere.”
Gosling greeted Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige and told the crowd that he’d wanted to play the character for a long time.
Gosling’s longtime partner, Eva Mendes, starred alongside Nicolas Cage in Cage’s original standalone Ghost Rider film, released in 2007 — a year before Iron Man kicked off Marvel’s cinematic universe.
A sequel was released by Sony in 2012, and film rights have since reverted to Marvel, but the character — a.k.a. Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist turned undead spectre with a flaming skull for a head — hasn’t appeared yet in the unified Marvel Cinematic Universe. (Diego Luna played Robbie Reyes, another character to take up the Ghost Rider mantle, in the tie-in series Agents of Shield.)
Stars take stage for Avengers: Doomsday
Feige told the crowd that Joe and Anthony Russo’s 2019 film Avengers: Endgame will be re-released in theaters on Sept. 25 with new footage linking it to the Russos’ Avengers: Doomsday, due out Dec. 18.
A Doomsday trailer played during the panel showed that Robert Downey Jr.’s Victor Von Doom will have some past tie to Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby). Storm is seen saying that Doom is a broken person who used to be different: “Everything he loved was taken from him.” Later, Richards asks Doom if he’s the one responsible for the horrors around them.
Downey Jr. joked on stage that Reed and Doom were “besties.” Fans have been curious about the connection between the two after The Fantastic Four: First Steps post-credit scene included a clip of Doom sitting in Reed and Storm’s living room with their baby.
Doomsday stars taking the stage included Wright, Duke, Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Simu Liu, Danny Ramirez, Anthony Mackie, James Marsden, Kelsey Grammer, Paul Rudd, Rebecca Romijn, David Harbour, Lewis Pullman and Tenoch Huerta.
Ryan Reynolds appears as grey Deadpool
Clad in a new grey Deadpool costume, Ryan Reynolds crashed the panel from the audience.
“Longtime listener. First time caller,” said Reynolds, asking Rudd why Thor was crying in the previous film. Rudd responded “He’s a Wrexham fan,” in reference to the soccer team that Reynolds co-owns.
“This seems like an awfully expensive way to announce a film. When do you start filming?” asked Reynolds.
“It’s in the can, bro! Did you bump your head?” said Downey Jr. from the stage.
Many fans waited more than a day to get inside Comic-Con’s most-anticipated panel. Marvel Studios hopes it will act as a reset for its brand, which has been diluted by an overabundance of Disney+ series and critics’ disappointment in films like last year’s Captain America: Brave New World.
Though audience interest in superhero films has waned in recent years, Spider-Man: Brand New Day — released by Sony in co-ordination with Marvel — is set to dominate the summer box office when it’s released July 31 and ticket pre-sales have been strong for Doomsday.
