Marvel’s Ghost Rider Summons Heated Rivalry Star for Mystery Role

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Published Oct 28, 2026, 9:56 AM EDT

Willa Rowe is a contributing writer at Polygon, covering games and entertainment. She is a New York-based journalist and critic whose work has been featured in Kotaku, Digital Trends, the A.V. Club, GamesRadar+, and more. She also co-hosts the Girl Mode podcast.

Ryan Gosling's MCU debut may have found its villain

Connor Storrie has reportedly found the only role after Heated Rivalry that could possibly give him a chance to be even hotter, just in a different way. One half of the breakout leading duo from 2025's hockey romance show, Storrie may now be trading in the ice rink for the fires of hell in Marvel's upcoming Ghost Rider film.

According to The Hollywood Reporter (and corroborated by Deadline), Storrie is in talks to star opposite Ryan Gosling in the Shaw Levy-helmed Marvel picture. Storrie was largely an unknown prior to his role as Ilya Rozanov in 2025's Heated Rivalry, an adaptation of Rachel Reid's 2019 novel of the same name. Storrie played Ilya Rozanov opposite Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander; Williams also saw his profile rise following the show's incredible success. Ghost Rider won't be Storrie's first foray into comic-book films, however, as the actor had a brief but memorable appearance in Joker: Folie à Deux.

Marvel first revealed the new Ghost Rider movie at San Diego Comic-Con this year with Gosling in the title role. Gosling has been vocal about wanting this project to happen for a while and now it finally is. Filming is set to begin next year ahead of its July 28, 2028, release. It hasn't been confirmed what version of the character Gosling will portray. Nicolas Cage previously appeared as Johnny Blaze, and fans theorize Gosling will instead play Danny Ketch.

Who will Connor Storrie play in Ghost Rider?

Image: Marvel Studios

Reports don't specify what character Storrie is in talks to play, but we do know that he will be the film's villain. Unlike other heroes across Marvel and DC, Ghost Rider doesn't have a particularly recognizable rogues' gallery to choose from. The most famous Ghost Rider villain is probably Mephisto. The Cage movies heavily focused on Mephisto and his son, Blackheart. Mephisto — who featured prominently in Cage's films — has already appeared in the MCU (portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen in Ironheart), so he's unlikely to appear in this Ghost Rider film.

So who does that leave for Storrie to play? Storrie has the looks and the acting chops to play Zadkiel, a fallen angel who is basically like Lucifer but even more evil. A weirder choice would be The Orb, a guy with one big eye for a head. Ghost Rider has some strange antagonists, and Storrie would do a great job bringing any of them to life.

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