Nicolas Cage is "excited" to see Ryan Gosling in Ghost Rider.
The 62-year-old actor - who played Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stuntman who sold his soul and became a supernatural agent of vengeance, in 2007's Ghost Rider and 2011's Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance - has had a "nice conversation" with the Barbie star about his upcoming Marvel Studios film and he is "looking forward" to seeing the finished movie.
The Madden star told The Hollywood Reporter: “Ryan’s going to do his thing with it and I’m looking forward to seeing it. Ryan knows how I feel about him as an actor; we’ve had nice conversations and we stay in touch. I was happy for him and wished him best of luck on his adventures and I look forward to seeing the movie.”
Ryan was revealed to be taking the lead role in a 2028 movie directed by Shawn Levy during a surprise appearance at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year, and MCU boss Kevin Feige later explained that the Barbie star had pitched his own idea for the film. Marvel has since scheduled the movie for release on 28 July 2028.
Speaking to Empire magazine, Feige said: "It was Gosling who had the vision.
"It was Gosling who had the pitch that won over Shawn, that had them come and pitch us this idea, which led to us on stage [at Comic-Con]."
Shawn recently admitted he is very excited about Ghost Rider and working with Ryan again.
Appearing on stage with the actor and MCU boss Kevin Feige, he said: "I’m having the greatest flashback vibes here, because I was here two years ago when we showed Deadpool + Wolverine.
"I’ll never forget that night, because I was introduced to the greatest fans.
"Gosling is the absolute s***. I say that with tremendous respect.
"We spent a lot of time last year making Starfighter, and the opportunity, as Ryan started talking about this character, I was like, ‘Bro, let’s ride.’ We’ll see you in 2028!"
Shawn also hailed the 45-year-old actor as a "great muse" and "partner" after they had such a great experience on Star Wars: Starfighter.
He told People magazine: “Some actors are great muses, right? Some actors are just amazing on screen and you’re inspired telling that story.
“The thing about Gosling is he’s a great muse and he’s inspiring, but he’s also a great partner.
“He thinks like a full-spectrum creative. He’s an artist. He’s an incredible actor, but he’s also thinking about the lighting, the fabric on the wall. He’s noticing everything...
“We had a really good time making this movie and it’s not just because we’re both Canadian, although that did lead to a certain baseline civility on set.
“Ryan loves delighting the audience and he’s done a lot of independent films, but he’s in a sweet spot where he is getting the opportunity to do big-canvas storytelling and playing characters that sort of have all the colours, comedic and emotional.
“This collaboration felt really good to both of us. Trust developed. We found we brought each other to better work because of each other. So after we wrapped, we just started talking about what else we might do together.”
Ryan is an executive producer on Star Wars: Starfighter, and Shawn confirmed he was very hands-on in the filmmaking process.
He said: “He was very much a fully proactive partner alongside me and Kathleen Kennedy and the rest of our crew in telling this story. So he’s both [for] views and collaborating."
Working together on Ghost Rider was an easy decision for the Deadpool and Wolverine filmmaker.
He admitted: “Literally six minutes into him telling me about it, I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s go. We’re doing that.’ We walked it into Kevin [Feige] and here we are."
