If you’re still reeling from Marvel Studios’ earth-shattering San Diego Comic-Con panel, don’t worry you’re not the only one. The confirmation that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the franchise as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday has reached news outlets all over the world, while also leaving fans very excited about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But that’s not the only time that Kevin Feige and his MCU buddies will make some jaw-dropping announcements. D23 is right around the corner, and audiences are expecting a lot more reveals and updates about the franchise from that one.

Now, according to a new report, they will be unveiling one of their next big heroes at the event.

Ryan Gosling rumored to be cast as the MCU’s Ghost Rider

According to a new report from Marvel scooper Marvel Updates, the studio has cast Ryan Gosling in the role of Ghost Rider with an official announcement expected to be made during D23. What’s more is that the character is expected to be a part of the long-rumored Midnight Sons project that fans are expecting Kevin Feige to announce in the near-future.

While it’s obviously important to take all reports and rumors with a grain of salt until officially confirmed by Marvel, this isn’t the first time that Ryan Gosling has been associated with the Marvel entity known as The Spirit of Vengeance. Over the past few months, a number of rumors have suggested that he could be in the mix for the role, and the response to those rumors have been increasingly positive. The same goes for this one, as the actor is atop many fan-castings for the role, so if this report turns out to be true, it will no doubt receive a great response from fans!

It would also mark one of the few times in comic book movie history where the fan-favorite choice actually ended up playing the role. And Gosling himself has been vocal about how much he would love to play Johnny Blaze in the past, revealing to the Happy Sad Confused podcast’s Josh Horowitz that Ghost Rider would be the comic book character he wants to play in the MCU. Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige even acknowledged those comments, telling Horowitz: “Ryan’s amazing. I would love to find a place for him in the MCU”.

A Ghost Rider project has been rumored for some time now, with multiple insiders and scoopers reporting that it is in the works, but that Marvel would be taking its time on developing it (especially as its recent shift in release strategy will see them be more selective with the projects they greenlight).. However, over the past few months, new reports have surfaced that claim the project could have merged with another long-rumored Marvel project: The Midnight Sons project.

Reliable Marvel insider Daniel Richtman has reported that a Midnight Sons project is indeed in development, while scooper HolyField News reported that it and the Ghost Rider project are one and the same, a movie titled Ghost Rider and the Midnight Sons. The latter also revealed at the time that Ghost Rider would be the lead of the project and that he would be played by a very popular actor. Given all of the rumors and how Gosling’s popularity has skyrocketed to even greater heights in the past year, it sounds like he might just be Marvel’s choice.

The Midnight Sons project is also intriguing as it is expected to focus on a number of Marvel’s more supernatural heroes, with rumors claiming that it will bring back multiple characters we met via the Disney Plus shows, including Moon Knight and the characters from the Werewolf by Night special presentation.

Keep your expectations on the ground floor until any of this is confirmed by Marvel, but this is a rumor that just won’t go away; and usually when that happens, it’s for a good reason.