Casting Ryan Gosling In The MCU: Best Marvel Characters He Could Play

Ryan Gosling has been floated by fans as a contender for a Marvel part, saying he'd like to play Ghost Rider, but what other roles could suit him?

Actor Ryan Gosling has expressed interest in playing a Marvel superhero, and many roles could suit him in the MCU. Gosling started as a child actor and worked his way up the Hollywood ranks with several indie hits, including Lars and the Real Girl and Blue Valentine, before becoming a household name with The Notebook. Since then, Gosling has shown his prowess in many diverse films, playing various characters, from humorously winsome to darkly violent. His turns in Drive, Blade Runner 2049, and The Nice Guys showed his penchant as an action hero lead, while movies like Crazy, Stupid Love, and La La Land showed off his more dramatic and charming persona. His latest role in the Avengers: Endgame director’s Netflix actioner The Gray Man looks to capitalize on the full breadth of Gosling’s skills, priming him for a superhero turn in the MCU.

Gosling recently debunked rumors that he was in contention for the role of Nova, a cosmic superhero in the MCU who has yet to appear in live action. The actor instead suggested he’d be keener to play Ghost Rider, which feels like a good fit overall. Aside from those two roles, Gosling has made no mention of an active pursuit to be in an MCU film, although it’s likely that Kevin Feige and Disney are keeping an eye on the actor as a prospect for their next wave of top-tier features, given his continued rise to fame.

While many of the more prominent MCU roles have already been spoken for, from Captain America to Thor to Doctor Strange, etc., there are still quite a few notable characters from the comics that have yet to be adapted into live-action. With Marvel spreading its wings between features and series on Disney+, the doors are wide open for Gosling to snag a fitting role in the vast universe of the MCU. Here are the top character suggestions for Ryan Gosling in the MCU, be it in a film or series.

Wonder Man

Simon Williams/Wonder Man is one of the earliest Avengers in Marvel Comics and a character that is primed to make his debut in the MCU. Wonder Man’s comic-book origin is a complex one with many layers. Born into wealth and handed the family business at a young age, Williams makes some bad decisions that lead him to jail, where he is eventually freed by Baron Zemo, agreeing to be a test subject for the villain’s ionic ray, which would later give him superhuman abilities. The experiment worked, and Williams took on the name of Wonder Man, originally infiltrating The Avengers to double-cross them for Zemo but later fighting for them and becoming one himself. Williams would later become a movie star, balancing the superhero life with Hollywood fame while courting Scarlet Witch and becoming a founding member of the West Coast Avengers.

Wonder Man is already set to be a new series on Disney+, but an actor has yet to be cast in the part, leaving the door open for Gosling if he wanted the role. It’s an excellent part for the actor, as Wonder Man is a complex, multi-faceted character who has a unique transition from everyman to superhero. In addition, Wonder Man is known for his charm and personality, being a Hollywood star as well as a superhero, making it an effortless fit for Gosling to portray that duality, as he’s already well known for mastering those qualities in his work thus far.

Quasar (Wendell Vaughn)

A cosmic superhero in the Marvel Universe, Wendell Vaughn is a former Army soldier who joins the S.H.I.E.L.D. academy and graduates with full honors, although he is denied fieldwork due to lack of a “killer instinct.” He is assigned as a security guard where Stark Industries studies the Quantum Bands, a pair of powerful energy-manipulating devices believed to have been created by the Eternal known as Kronos. The original user fails to harness them and perishes, with Vaughn putting them on to stave off an attack by A.I.M. to acquire them. Vaughn finds that he is able to harness the bands because of his lack of a killer instinct, making him the perfect match to wield their power. He eventually takes on the mantle of Quasar and is bestowed the responsibility of the new Protector of the Universe by Eon (and eventually becomes an Avenger), which was previously given to Captain Marvel.

Gosling is an excellent fit for Quasar, as he could play the role of Vaughn with a perfect balance of humility and heroism, particularly when he’s deemed unworthy of fieldwork for lack of a killer instinct. The actor has shown his ability to play a flawed outsider who rises to the challenge when faced with insurmountable odds, and Quasar fits that bill to a tee. The role would allow the actor to portray an unlikely superhero rather than one that is simply born with powers, which would make for a fun onscreen evolution for Gosling.

Ka-Zar The Savage

Essentially Marvel’s Tarzan, Ka-Zar is the protector of the Savage Land, a hidden jungle in Antarctica that houses all manner of prehistoric creatures and beasts. Ka-Zar’s father, a British scientist, discovered the Savage Land, which he found housed a massive supply of Vibranium. Eventually, Ka-Zar’s father is pursued by evil agents who want to know the whereabouts of the Vibranium, and he seeks refuge in the Savage Land. However, he is then killed by the savage native creatures called Man-Apes, who are thwarted from killing Ka-Zar when he is saved by Zabu, a saber-toothed tiger who would become Ka-Zar’s companion and protector as he grew up in the Savage Land. Eventually, Ka-Zar exacted his revenge against the Man-Apes and assumed the role of protector of the land. While there, he would encounter numerous adventures with visitors like the X-Men, Spider-Man, and Daredevil, and would eventually marry Shanna The She-Devil, another key character in Marvel’s Savage Land arena.

Gosling playing Ka-Zar hits on a number of levels, starting with his physicality. The actor is in excellent shape and has shown that he can meet the physical requirements that Ka-Zar would require. Any actor that plays Ka-Zar would need to be comfortable being half-naked the majority of the time, and Gosling would no doubt feel right at home there. Beyond the physical, Ka-Zar will be a unique challenge to bring to life in live-action, as Gosling would have the responsibility of defining the character for the first time. Ka-Zar isn’t a brute but a classically-educated human who adapted to living in a prehistoric world, making for a strong test of Gosling’s acting attributes and physical presence.

Nomad (Jack Monroe)

A complex and flawed Marvel character, Nomad was the identity taken up by Jack Monroe, a man who grew up with Nazi-sympathizing parents who were eventually killed, turning Monroe into an orphan. Monroe then began to idolize Captain America and Bucky, eventually meeting a man named William Burnside, who had reconstructed the super-soldier serum from scratch. They injected themselves with it and became the new Captain America and Bucky, fighting in the name of the originals before they were lost to suspended animation after WWII. After years of being Captain America and Bucky, Monroe and Burnside began to feel the effects of their crude super soldier serum, which caused them to go mad. They were suspended in animation and eventually freed, with Monroe later trained by the real Captain America, Steve Rogers and taking on the identity of Nomad, vowing to fight off evil yet again, this time as a gun-toting vigilante.

Gosling has shown his range as a more complicated hero, particularly in Drive, which makes Nomad a unique fit for the actor. Nomad teases the balance between traditional superhero and grounded street-level vigilante, making it a very different part than is standard for many of the MCU characters. Playing a sometimes unstable vigilante with super soldier abilities would be a cool role for Gosling and a very different character to fold into the MCU. With his connections to Steve Rogers and The Winter Soldier, it would give Gosling the opportunity to work within the Captain America legacy as an outlier character in a way few roles now can.

Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch)

Gosling’s expressed to desire to play Ghost Rider is actually an excellent fit for the actor. Johnny Blaze, the first Ghost Rider, was previously portrayed by Nicolas Cage when the property was under the Fox banner. A different variation, that of Robbie Reyes, was played by Gabrial Luna on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. However, the Daniel Ketch version has yet to be portrayed in live action. Another complex character, Ketch is later revealed to be the half-brother of Johnny Blaze. Ketch becomes The Spirit of Vengeance when Deathwatch mortally wounds his sister, and he escapes to a junkyard where an immaculate motorcycle lures him to touch it, transforming him into Ghost Rider. Ketch would go on to many adventures, including meeting Johnny Blaze, as well as joining Doctor Strange’s occult team, The Midnight Sons.

A perfect role for Gosling, Daniel Ketch/Ghost Rider would make for yet another fun and challenging role for the actor. There’s a rich, complex history to deal with and a deeper exploration of the MCU’s darker occult universe that would be a great place for Gosling to explore. The actor can play dark and conflicted easily, and the role would closely mirror his turns in Drive and The Place Beyond The Pines, making it a strong fit overall. In addition, as the multiverse is now opened up in the MCU, it leaves the door open for Cage to return as the Blaze Ghost Rider, perhaps teaming up with Gosling’s Ketch in a Spirits of Vengeance movie or series, let alone a Midnight Sons team-up with Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange and Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight.