Credit : Variety's X
LOS ANGELES, October 27, 2026 – “Heated Rivalry” breakout star Connor Storrie is in talks to play the villain opposite Ryan Gosling in Marvel Studios’ upcoming “Ghost Rider” movie, Variety reported.
The film is being directed by Shawn Levy from a script by Jonathan Tropper, the screenwriter of “Star Wars: Starfighter.” “Ghost Rider” is slated for release on July 28, 2028.
Levy and Gosling are also producing the project alongside Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito and Stephen Broussard, with Richie Palmer and Jessie Henderson serving as executive producers. The Hollywood Reporter first broke the news of Storrie’s potential casting. Marvel Studios does not comment on casting.
From Waiting Tables to the MCU
Landing a Marvel role would be a major win for Storrie, who shot to pop culture fame playing Russian hockey star Ilya Romanov in “Heated Rivalry.”
According to Variety, the Texas native was waiting tables at Laurel Grill in Culver City before he was offered the game-changing TV role. He has since turned that attention into a Primetime Emmy-nominated stint as guest host of “Saturday Night Live” and a supporting role opposite Billie Eilish in Sarah Polley’s film adaptation of “The Bell Jar” for Focus Features.
The much-anticipated second season of “Heated Rivalry,” which follows the rivals-to-lovers journey of Storrie’s Ilya and Hudson Williams’ Shane Hollander, is now filming and will premiere on HBO Max next spring.
Gosling’s Long-Awaited Marvel Role
The “Ghost Rider” project is coming together quickly, with plans to begin shooting in New York next year. Feige made the surprise announcement about the film during Marvel’s Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con this summer.
“As you know, this is a character I’ve wanted to play for a very long time,” Gosling told the excited crowd at the time.
For years, Gosling had been Marvel fans’ top pick to play Ghost Rider. Nicolas Cage previously played motorcycle stuntman Johnny Blaze in the 2007 origin film “Ghost Rider” and its 2011 sequel. In the comics and in those films, Johnny sells his soul to the devil Mephisto to cure his father’s cancer.
After the rights reverted to Marvel Studios, actor Gabriel Luna played the Robbie Reyes version of the character, a younger Latino man, on the ABC series “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Which Villain Will Storrie Play?
Marvel has not yet confirmed which version of Ghost Rider Gosling will play, so it is also unclear which villain Storrie would portray.
One possible candidate is Mephisto, the demonic figure central to the Johnny Blaze story, who was recently introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The character was played by Sacha Baron Cohen in the Disney+ series “Ironheart.” However, there has been no confirmation that Storrie’s role is connected to that character.
The casting talks add another rising name to one of Marvel’s most closely watched upcoming projects. For Gosling, “Ghost Rider” marks his long-anticipated entry into the superhero franchise after years of fan campaigning. For Storrie, the role would mark a leap from streaming breakout to blockbuster cinema in a little over a year.
Storrie is represented by CAA, Linden Entertainment, Shelter PR and Yorn Levine.
Source: Variety
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