1 hour ago
11
How La La Land's 10th Anniversary Poster Fixes Ryan Gosling's Biggest Regret About the Movie
Eva Mendes is ridin’ with her partner Ryan Gosling’s new role.
After Gosling was announced to play Ghost Rider in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in an upcoming standalone film at San Diego Comic-Con July 25, the actress reacted to the exciting news by sharing a nod to The Place Beyond the Pines, the 2012 movie on which she and Gosling met, proving she’s more than on board with his MCU casting.
In a July 26 Instagram post, Mendes reshared a fan-edited clip of the opening scene from The Place Beyond the Pines, which features a tracking shot of a shirtless, tattooed Gosling as motorcycle stunt driver Luke Glanton, putting on a vest and jacket while walking through a carnival crowd, before he hops on his bike.
The editor added the newly released Ghost Rider logo on top of the footage, writing, “from this intro only i thought ryan gosling can be a perfect casting for ghost rider role.”
Mendes—who shares daughters Esmeralda, 11, and Amada, 10, with Gosling—captioned the video, writing, “Love, Roxy.”
And who is Roxy, one might ask? Mendes was seemingly referring to Roxanne Simpson, the character she played in 2007’s Ghost Rider, the love interest of Nicolas Cage, who starred in the titular role.
Indeed, the 52-year-old starred in a film about the motorcycle-riding Marvel Comics anti-hero before Gosling. But the Project Hail Mary actor will be the first to portray the character in the MCU.
After all, Gosling—a longtime fan cast of Ghost Rider—and the self-titled film were announced at Marvel’s Hall H panel by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who brought out the star, throwing fans into a frenzy.
Sonia Recchia/Getty Images
And while Gosling has been a longtime fancast of Ghost Rider, he’s also previously expressed his desire to play the supernatural character, whose primarily identity is Johnny Blaze.
“Wow, is this really happening,” the 45-year-old, who matched the Ghost Rider logo in a red jacket and black pants, told Hall H. “As you know, this is a character I’ve wanted to play for a very long time. So, Kevin, Josh Horowitz, Hall H, thank you.”
Although plot details for Ghost Rider—which will mark the second collaboration between Gosling and director Shawn Levy after they worked together on the upcoming film Star Wars: Starfighter—are under wraps, the sweet irony that Gosling will star in a Ghost Rider movie, albeit another iteration, isn’t lost on Mendes.
Chris DELMAS / AFP via Getty Images
After sharing a video montage of clips of herself and Gosling from The Place Beyond the Pines on her Instagram Stories July 26, she thanked the creator of the edit for highlighting "this beautiful parallel universe connection.”
To see more heartwarming quotes Mendes and Gosling have made about each other over the years, keep reading...
Focus/Kobal
Their Place Beyond the Pines
Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes started dating shortly after playing a couple in their 2012 crime drama A Place Beyond the Pines.
“I know that I’m with the person I’m supposed to be with," Ryan told Hello three years after the movie's release, adding that his favorite quality about his partner is that "she’s Eva Mendes."
As he put it, "There’s nothing else I’m looking for."
Sonia Recchia/Getty Images
On Cloud Nine
For Ryan, life with Eva and their daughters Esmeralda and Amada is "heaven."
"It's like walking through a field of flowers every day," he gushed during a 2016 appearance on Good Morning America. "I live with angels. It's a ray of sunshine in a dark time."
Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
La La Love
Ryan dedicated his 2017 Golden Globes win for La La Land to Eva—and her late brother Juan Carlos Méndez Jr.—saying in his acceptance speech, "While I was singing and dancing and playing piano and having one of the best experiences I’ve ever had on a film, my lady was raising our daughter, pregnant with our second, and trying to help her brother fight his battle with cancer."
"If she hadn’t have taken all that on so that I could have this experience, it would surely be someone else up here other than me today," continued Ryan. "So sweetheart, thank you.”
Donato Sardella/Getty Images for New York & Company
Oh Baby
For most of her life, Eva thought she would never become a mother. Then, according to the Hitch actress, "Ryan Gosling happened."
"I mean, falling in love with him," she told Women's Health in 2019. "Then it made sense for me to have…not kids, but his kids. It was very specific to him."
Instagram/Eva Mendes
Parental Duties
Of her life with Ryan as parents to two young girls, Eva joked to Access in 2019, "It's so fun and beautiful and maddening."
"It's so hard, of course," she noted. "You end your day, you put them to bed and Ryan and I kind of look at each other like, 'We did it, we did it. We came out relatively unscathed.'"
Robert Kamau/GC Images
Staying Private in a Public Space
Eva got candid about the couple's decision to keep their home life out of the spotlight, writing to a fan on Instagram in May 2020, "I don't talk about Ryan and all the wonderful things he does as a father because I keep that part private."
"I feel it's best that I continue to disclose what I'm comfortable with but not involve him or my kids too much," she continued. "Does that make sense? Hope so. Because this is my honest answer."
Focus/Kobal/Shutterstock
Building a Family
Likewise, Ryan didn't really have baby on the brain until Eva came along.
"I mean, it’s true that I wasn’t thinking about kids before I met her," the Drive star admitted in a 2023 GQ interview, "but after I met Eva, I realized that I just didn’t want to have kids without her."
In fact, Ryan said "there were moments on The Place Beyond the Pines where we were pretending to be a family, and I didn’t really want it to be pretend anymore. I realized that this would be a life I would be really lucky to have."
Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
Mama Knows Best
When it comes to parenting, Ryan also admittedly looks to his longtime love.
"I just lean on Eva," he told GQ in 2023. "She knows what’s important, always. She just somehow knows. So if ever I’m in my head about it, I just ask her.”
Splash by Shutterstock
Finding the One
Reflecting on his life before Eva, the Notebook alum said in the same interview, "I was looking for her, you know?"
He added, "But it all makes sense now."
Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images
Feel the Kenergy
Eva let the world know that Ryan is more than kenough following the success of Barbie. Reflecting on the "hate when he took on this role," the actress wrote on Instagram in January 2024, "So proud of my man."
"Despite all the #Notmyken ridicule and articles written about him, he created this completely original, hilarious, heartbreaking, now iconic character," she added, "and took it all the way to Oscars."
Focus/Kobal
Best Costars
Working with Ryan on The Place Beyond the Pines changed Eva's life in more ways than one. As she explained of his approach to acting during a March 2024 Today appearance, "I’ve never experienced anything like that."
"The way he works, his commitment to his craft, how he wants to make everything as best as it can be," the Girl in Progress star shared, "and that means making his costars as best as they can be."
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Lessons Learned
But for Ryan, Eva is the one doling out the acting lessons.
“She has really become the best acting coach I have ever had," he raved to Extra in May 2024. "It's endless how she helps me"
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
English (US) ·