‘Heated Rivarly’ star in talks to play villain opposite Ryan Gosling in ‘Ghost Rider’

‘Heated Rivalry’ star Connor Storrie is in talks to play an unnamed villain in Marvel Studios’ ‘Ghost Rider’ opposite Ryan Gosling, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The movie will be filmed in New York next year, with Linus Sandgren, Oscar-winning cinematographer of ‘La La Land,’ ‘Wuthering Heights,’ and ‘Dune: Part Three,’ taking on the role of Director of Photography. No casting announcements have been made by Marvel. The journey to Gosling landing the role of ‘Ghost Rider’ began in 2022. At the time, he said he wanted to portray ‘Ghost Rider’, and Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, said during Comic-Con the same year that he would love to give the actor a spot in the MCU.

Four years later, Feige brought Gosling onto the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con on July 25, 2026, to confirm that he would join the film, directed by ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ director Shawn Levy. Gosling said to fans during the panel that it’s a character he “really wanted to play.” However, Levy added that he and Gosling had been discussing ‘Ghost Rider’ ideas while filming ‘Star Wars: Starfighter.’ Disney has given ‘Ghost Rider’ a release date of July 28, 2028.

In the comics, Mephisto, the demonic antagonist behind stunt rider Johnny Blaze’s curse, and his son Blackheart have often opposed Ghost Rider. Blackheart was portrayed by Wes Bentley and was the main antagonist in the 2007 film, alongside Nicolas Cage as Blaze. Cage returned for ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’ in 2012. Since then, Mephisto has been portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen in Marvel’s Disney+ series ‘Ironheart’. Rights to ‘Ghost Rider’ were given back to Marvel Studios from Sony.

Meanwhile, Storrie gained fame for playing Ilya Rozanov in ‘Heated Rivalry,’ an adaptation of Rachel Reid’s book. The show, which premiered in November 2025, follows him and Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) as rival hockey stars. Interestingly, his first Emmy nomination was not for this show. As the show was fully funded in Canada, it could not be entered into the Emmys. However, he received an Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series nomination (July 2026) for hosting ‘Saturday Night Live’ on February 28. 

Storrie also has another film coming up. Focus Features confirmed on September 8 that he will be playing Marco in Sarah Polley’s adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar.’ Billie Eilish stars in her first feature film role as Esther Greenwood, with Carey Mulligan playing her mother. No release date has been announced; however, filming has finished. Season 2 of ‘Heated Rivalry’ is currently in production and will premiere on HBO Max in Spring 2027.