Here’s the thing I keep coming back to. Connor Storrie says he worked in restaurants for eight years before Heated Rivalry made him a breakout star. Now he’s reportedly in talks to stand across from Ryan Gosling in a Marvel movie as the bad guy. Whatever you think of superhero films, that is a wild year.

But I’m going to slow down on purpose, because this story has a trap in it. The word is “reportedly.” Marvel hasn’t announced Storrie, nobody has named his character, and “in talks” is the language of a deal that can still change. So this isn’t a victory lap. It’s a sorting job: what’s locked, what’s reported, what’s just internet energy, and then my honest take on whether this is a good idea.

I’m going in optimistic. Casting a newer face as the villain is one of the oldest ways to make a big movie feel less like a machine and more like a story.

The Key Points

  • Connor Storrie is reportedly in talks to play the villain opposite Ryan Gosling in Marvel’s Ghost Rider. The Hollywood Reporter reported it, and Variety, Entertainment Weekly and People followed. Marvel has not confirmed the casting.
  • Locked in, per Marvel itself: Gosling stars, Shawn Levy directs and the movie opens in theaters July 28, 2028. Reports add that Jonathan Tropper wrote it and that filming is expected to start in New York in 2027.
  • Not reported anywhere I could find: which villain Storrie would play. Anyone telling you it’s a specific character is guessing.
  • My take: it’s a smart bet, because the movie needs a villain who gives Gosling something real to push against, and a fresh face helps with that. I’ll show my reasoning below with a four-question test.
DESK 1 The status board Sorted by what’s solid

Is Connor Storrie confirmed for Ghost Rider? The status board

No, not yet. He’s reported to be in talks, and that’s a different thing from a signed, announced role. Here’s every claim going around, sorted by how solid it is.

Status boardGhost Rider

Ryan Gosling stars as the title heroAnnounced by Marvel Studios at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2026

Confirmed

Shawn Levy directsAlso announced at Comic-Con. He directed Deadpool & Wolverine

Confirmed

Theatrical release: July 28, 2028The date Marvel gave at Comic-Con. A release date is a plan, not a promise

Confirmed

Jonathan Tropper wrote the scriptNamed in People’s and IBTimes UK’s coverage, not in Marvel’s announcement

Reported

Gosling plays Johnny BlazeReported by several outlets. Marvel’s announcement calls him the title hero

Reported

Filming starts in New York in 2027Attributed to The Hollywood Reporter

Reported

Linus Sandgren shoots the film on film stockAttributed to The Hollywood Reporter. He also shot Dune: Part Three

Reported

Connor Storrie is in talks for the villainReported by The Hollywood Reporter. Disney and Marvel haven’t commented publicly in the coverage I found

Reported

Which villain he would playI found no report naming the character

Not reported

The plotMarvel hasn’t shared one

Not reported

That last pair is the part I’d tape to your monitor. When a casting report says “villain” and stops, every specific name you see after that is a fan theory, even if it’s a smart one.

DESK 2 The paper trail Who said what

Who reported it, and how much weight each report deserves

A casting story gets louder every time another outlet repeats it, but repeating isn’t the same as confirming. Here’s the trail as I could piece it together, from earliest to latest, and how much weight I give each step.

  1. Knight Edge MediaFirst to surface it

    Gizmodo’s coverage credits Knight Edge Media with first reporting Storrie’s attachment. I treat any first report as a lead, not a fact, until a major trade picks it up.

  2. The Hollywood ReporterThe report that matters

    THR reported that Storrie is in talks for the villain role. It’s a major trade with a strong track record on casting, and this is the report every later story builds on. It’s still “in talks.”

  3. Variety and Entertainment WeeklyIndependent echoes

    Variety published its own report on the talks, and People says Entertainment Weekly later confirmed Storrie is circling a villain role. When more than one outlet gets the same detail, I trust it more. I still can’t call it final.

  4. People, IBTimes UK, iHorror and the restPickup, not new reporting

    These pieces repeat the trade reports. People says it contacted Disney and Storrie’s reps, and its article doesn’t include a response from either. That silence isn’t a denial. It’s just silence.

How I read thisFour outlets saying the same thing sounds like a landslide, but it’s really one or two original reports and a lot of echo. That’s normal, and it’s why I’m calling this “very likely under discussion” and not “done.”
DESK 3 The actor What’s documented

Who is Connor Storrie? A short career map

If you’ve only just heard the name, here’s the quick version. Everything below comes from the coverage listed at the bottom.

Age 26Where he is nowReported as 26 in both People’s and IBTimes UK’s coverage.
8 yearsBefore the breakoutHe has said he worked in restaurants for eight years before his big break, and told TODAY he nearly lost his restaurant job the day he learned he’d been cast.
Ilya RozanovHeated RivalryHis breakout role, in the HBO Max hockey romance, opposite Hudson Williams. A second season is on the way.
2023 & 2024Films so farFilm debut in Riley (2023), then a small part in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024).
SNL hostFebruary 2026People reports he hosted Saturday Night Live and later earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
Two moreAnnounced projectsMolly Gordon’s comedy Peaked and Sarah Polley’s adaptation of The Bell Jar, per People’s coverage.

Notice what’s missing from that list: a long run of big villain roles. IGN described his Joker: Folie à Deux part as lasting a couple of minutes. That’s not a knock. It’s the point. Marvel isn’t buying a proven movie heavy, it’s betting on presence, and I’ll come back to why I think that’s the interesting part.

DESK 4 The movie Official and reported

What we actually know about the Ghost Rider movie

Marvel announced Ghost Rider at San Diego Comic-Con in July, with Kevin Feige revealing a new film in development. The reported production details have been filling in since.

  • Jul 2026

    Feige announces Ghost Rider in Hall H. Gosling says it’s “a character I’ve wanted to play for a very long time,” and says only one director could bring it to the screen before inviting Levy on stage.

  • Jul 2026

    Levy explains the idea started during downtime on the Star Wars: Starfighter set, where he and Gosling talked about the character. He signs off with “we’ll see you in 2028.”

  • This week

    THR reports Storrie is in talks for the villain. Variety and Entertainment Weekly report the same detail, and People publishes its own story on Oct. 28.

  • May 28, 2027

    Gosling and Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter is due in theaters, per People and Marvel’s coverage.

  • 2027

    Filming is expected to begin in New York, per THR.

  • Jul 28, 2028

    Marvel’s release date for Ghost Rider. That’s 636 days from today, if you’re counting.

IGN reports it’s expected to be among the first Marvel films after Avengers: Secret Wars. I’d treat that as a reported plan, not a promise.

Here’s my opinion: this is the most interesting kind of Marvel setup. Gosling has said out loud that he’s wanted this role for a long time, and the director is someone he’s already working with. That doesn’t guarantee a good movie, but it removes the feeling of a star doing a favor for a franchise. People can tell the difference.

DESK 5 The big question Honest answer: unknown

Who could the villain be? The honest answer

Nobody has reported it. I looked. Every story I found says Storrie would play “a villain” and then moves on.

Some coverage notes that Mephisto is the villain most associated with Ghost Rider in the comics. That’s a fair point of context, and it’s where a lot of the internet will start. But “most associated with the character” isn’t the same as “reported for this casting,” so I’m not going to name it as the answer.

What I can do is tell you how I’d think about it. Here are the three broad shapes this could take, and to be clear, all three are my speculation:

Shape oneThe supernatural big badThe movie leans into the horror side of the comics, and the villain is something old and terrifying. It would be a big swing for a younger actor.
Shape twoThe human antagonistA rival or a threat with a face, someone who makes the hero’s choices harder. This is the version that makes me most curious.
Shape threeA twist we can’t guessMarvel loves a reveal. The role might not look like what any of us would assume from the headline.

My own preference, for what it’s worth: I’d rather have a villain with a human face than a pile of CGI. The best Marvel antagonists feel like people with a point. I can’t tell you which version this is, and neither can anyone else yet.

DESK 6 My own test Opinion, clearly labeled

My four-question villain test

When I hear that a movie is casting a villain, I ask the same four questions. They’re mine, not a scientific formula, and the answers are my gut. I haven’t seen Storrie play a long-form villain, so I’m grading the bet, not the performance.

Question 1Can he be threatening without raising his voice?
Unproven

I can’t answer this from his résumé, and I won’t pretend to. His breakout was a romance, his Joker: Folie à Deux part was brief, and nobody has watched him carry menace through a whole movie. That’s the honest gap in this bet.

Question 2Does he give Gosling something real to push against?
Promising

A hero is only as interesting as the pressure on him. Gosling is great at stillness, so the villain doesn’t need to out-shout him. He needs to be unsettling in a different key. A younger, fresh-faced antagonist can do that.

Question 3Do people walk in curious or cynical?
Real advantage

This is where I think Marvel is smart. I think some viewers are tired of villains who are famous faces in a different costume. A name people are excited about, but haven’t seen as a Marvel villain, buys a little curiosity. That’s valuable right now.

Question 4Is the role big enough to matter?
Too early

Reports say “the villain,” not “a henchman,” which is encouraging. But we don’t know the size of the part, and a great villain needs real screen time to land.

Two promising, two unknown. I’d take that scorecard on any Marvel announcement, and it’s why my answer is “betting smart” and not “can’t miss.”

DESK 7 The homework question Optional viewing

Do you need to watch the Nicolas Cage movies before Ghost Rider (2028)?

Short answer: no. I haven’t seen any report tying the new film to the earlier versions, and Marvel hasn’t said anything about continuity with them. If you’re curious about the character’s screen history, here’s how I’d spend your time.

Ghost Rider (2007)OptionalNicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze, from Columbia Pictures. Worth it if you want to see the version a lot of people grew up with.
Spirit of Vengeance (2012)Skip unless curiousCage returns for the sequel. It’s a different tone, and nothing I’ve read suggests you’d need it for the new movie.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., season 4OptionalGabriel Luna plays a different Ghost Rider, Robbie Reyes. It’s a good look at how the character can work in a Marvel world.

My honest advice: go in fresh. If Gosling’s version is what the Comic-Con moment suggested, it will want to be its own thing.

DESK 8 Reader questions Answered

Ghost Rider questions people are asking

Is Connor Storrie in Ghost Rider?

He’s reported to be in talks to play the villain. Marvel hasn’t announced it and the coverage I found doesn’t include a statement from Disney or Storrie’s reps, so it’s not confirmed.

Who is the villain in the new Ghost Rider movie?

Nobody has reported the character’s name. Storrie is reported to be in talks for “the villain,” and that’s all that’s known.

When does Ghost Rider come out?

Marvel dated the film for July 28, 2028, a Friday.

Who plays Ghost Rider in the new movie?

Ryan Gosling. Marvel announced him at San Diego Comic-Con in July, and several outlets report he plays Johnny Blaze.

Who is directing Ghost Rider?

Shawn Levy, who directed Deadpool & Wolverine. Reports say Jonathan Tropper wrote the script.

Is Nicolas Cage in the new Ghost Rider?

I found no report saying so. Cage played Johnny Blaze in the 2007 film and the 2012 sequel, and the new movie stars Gosling.

When does filming start?

THR reports filming is expected to begin in New York in 2027. Treat it as a plan.

What else is Connor Storrie doing?

Heated Rivalry is returning for a second season, and People lists Molly Gordon’s Peaked and Sarah Polley’s The Bell Jar among his upcoming projects.

DESK 9 The landing Status: my verdict

Is Storrie a good casting for Ghost Rider? My landing

This is a verdict on the bet, not the performance. The casting isn’t official and the movie is about 21 months away.

I’m optimistic ifThe role has roomthe villain gets real scenes with Gosling and a point of view, not just menace and a costume.
I’m cautious ifIt’s a cameo-sized parta breakout star in a small villain role would be a missed chance for everyone involved.
I’m waiting onMarvel’s confirmationuntil it’s official, this is a strong report, not a done deal.

My verdict: a smart bet. Marvel is pairing a movie star who has wanted this role for years with an actor audiences are curious about, and it’s a lot harder to get that curiosity back once it’s gone.