SAN DIEGO – Welcome to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ryan Gosling.
The “Project Hail Mary” standout was introduced as the star of a new “Ghost Rider” movie, one of several surprises announced when Earth’s mightiest heroes descended on San Diego Comic-Con in Marvel’s packed Hall H panel.
In addition, British actor David Jonsson joined the cast of a newly announced “Black Panther III” as the title character, and son of Chadwick Boseman’s beloved Wakandan king T’Challa. Ryan Reynolds crashed the panel in costume as Deadpool, Robert Downey Jr. teased his villainous role in the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday,” and Jon Bernthal stopped by to preview a scene from the upcoming “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
Ryan Gosling is introduced as the star of Marvel’s new “Ghost Rider” movie at Comic-Con.
Here are all the live updates and news we learned at the Marvel Comic-Con panel.
Johnny Depp arrives as Scrooge, plus more celeb moments at Comic-Con
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“Twilight” alumni Ashley Greene and Peter Facinelli are seen at the “Bite Me: Calling All Vampires” panel on July 23.
(CHRIS DELMAS, AFP via Getty Images)
David Jonsson inherits Chadwick Boseman’s superhero mantle in ‘Black Panther III’
09:41 PM ET, July 25 2026, Brian Truitt
Kevin Feige returns for one last announcement: A logo for “Black Panther III” is shown on screen, and director Ryan Coogler walks out and announces a release date of Dec. 15, 2028.
David Jonsson (left) hugs his “Black Panther III” director Ryan Coogler at Marvel’s Comic-Con panel. Jonsson, who starred in “The Long Walk,” will play the son of Chadwick Boseman’s beloved character T’Challa.
“The last time we were together, we got to make a movie, we introduced a character that was the son of the character that the late Chadwick Boseman played,” Coogler says. He then asked the crowd to give a “warm welcome” to the new Black Panther, British actor David Jonsson.
“I don’t want to say too much, because I want to let the screen do the talking, but believe me, the honor is entirely mine,” says Jonsson, “The Long Walk” actor who appears on stage with new costars Letitia Wright and Winston Duke.
Marvel premieres new footage with Pedro Pascal, Robert Downey Jr. from ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
09:35 PM ET, July 25 2026, Brian Truitt
New footage from “Doomsday” is shown. It opens with a shot of Doctor Doom sitting on a throne, as Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) explains: “Victor was always the smartest guy in every room. He used to be different. He used to be kind. He used to be caring. And then, everything he loved was taken from him.”
Robert Downey Jr. (far left), Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans preview their upcoming Marvel movie “Avengers: Doomsday” at Comic-Con.
Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards is shown in an angry confrontation with Robert Downey Jr.’s Doom, where Reed asks him, “Victor, did you do this? Did you do this?” As a montage of clips from throughout the film are shown, Doom says, “All of you have lived stolen lives. You must give them back.”
Ryan Reynolds crashes the Marvel panel in gray Deadpool costume
09:30 PM ET, July 25 2026, Brian Truitt
Robert Downey Jr. points to a fan in the crowd wearing a Deadpool costume, though it’s gray compared to the usual red-and-black getup. He’s given a microphone and begins speaking in the unmistakable voice of Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds asks, “Where is Thor, and why was he crying,” referencing an unresolved plot thread from “Deadpool & Wolverine” where Thor was shown crying over Deadpool.
Ryan Reynolds crashes Marvel’s Comic-Con panel in Deadpool cosplay in Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center.
“This seems an awfully expensive way to announce a film. When do you start filming?” Reynolds asks, before the cast informs him that the movie is already finished. He wonders if it’s too late to add him in post production, before dropping the microphone and leaving. (Fun fact: Reynolds is wearing a professional Comic-Con badge with the name “Elias Calderon.” That is also the name of an Argentine soccer player, and Reynolds is famously the co-owner of Wales’ Wrexham soccer club.)
As Doctor Doom, Robert Downey Jr. says ‘it’s not easy being green’
09:26 PM ET, July 25 2026, Brian Truitt
“Avengers: Doomsday” directors Joe and Anthony Russo arrive. Along with Feige, Kevin they say they feel bad for the people sitting in the very back of Hall H who can’t see anything, so they reveal two separate platforms at the back of the room where much of the cast of “Avengers: Doomsday” is standing in two groups, one for the X-Men and one for the Avengers.
On the main stage, Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Pedro Pascal and, finally, Robert Downey Jr. come out on stage. “It’s not easy being green,” Downey says, before prompting the audience to put on their Doom masks if they want to join the green side. The Avengers cast walks through Hall H up to the main stage, high-fiving with fans along the way, before the stars take a giant selfie.
Jon Bernthal, aka the Punisher, hypes Hulk battle in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’
09:18 PM ET, July 25 2026, Brian Truitt
Jon Berenthal joins Kevin Feige on stage, wanting to talk about “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” Feige says he wasn’t planning on talking about the movie since it’s out in just a few days, but Berenthal objects. “You guys wanna see something?” he asks the crowd. A clip is shown of a fight scene where the Punisher (played by Bernthal) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) team up to face the Hulk.
Move over, Nicolas Cage: Ryan Gosling is Marvel’s new Ghost Rider
09:11 PM ET, July 25 2026, Brian Truitt
The crowd is revved for the first surprise of the night: The lights go out, and a logo for “Ghost Rider” appears on stage. When they come back on, Gosling is on stage.
“Wow, is this really happening?” says Gosling, decked out in a bright red jacket that matches the color of the movie logo. “As you know, this is a character I’ve wanted to play for a very long time.”
Ryan Gosling is introduced as the star of Marvel’s new “Ghost Rider” movie at Comic-Con.
Gosling says there’s only “one director” who could make “Ghost Rider”: Shawn Levy is the man behind the new film, with Feige saying he was impressed by his work on Gosling’s upcoming “Star Wars: Starfighter.”
Levy says he and Gosling talked about the idea of making a Ghost Rider movie on the set of “Starfighter” and told each other, “Bro, let’s ride.” The film opens in 2028.
Nicolas Cage previously played the motorcycle-riding spirit of vengeance in two “Ghost Rider” movies, 2007 and 2011.
‘Avengers: Endgame’ re-release garners a trailer premiere at Comic-Con
09:08 PM ET, July 25 2026, Brian Truitt
Kevin Feige introduces a trailer for the re-release of “Avengers: Endgame,” coming to movie theaters Sept. 25.
“In 2019, one cinematic event brought the world together,” the trailer declares, showing excited audience reactions on opening night of “Endgame.” “This is the encore.”
Marvel kicks off Comic-Con panel with a highlight package
09:02 PM ET, July 25 2026, Brian Truitt
The panel begins with a sizzle reel of clips from throughout the MCU, plus the original X-Men films. The text “Marvel Studios returns to Hall H” coming on screen at the end of the montage draws massive cheers in the room.
Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios speaks onstage during the Marvel Studios Panel at 2026 San Diego Comic-Con .
Marvel boss Kevin Feige takes the stage and reflects on the studio’s long history of announcing major Marvel news at Comic-Con, including Downey as Doom.
He hypes up Marvel’s television slate, including “X-Men ’97” and the upcoming “VisionQuest” TV series, before saying that “today, we’re mainly going to be talking about movies.”
Marvel panel is late in starting, Comic-Con crowd is psyched for H.E.R.B.I.E.
08:44 PM ET, July 25 2026, Brian Truitt
As usual, the Marvel panel isn’t starting on time and it’s already an absolute madhouse in Hall H, which houses 6,500 folks extremely ready for all the superhero news, A-list appearances, movie announcements and more. We’re seated and ready to type once the news starts to fly.
Audience members donned Doctor Doom masks akin to Robert Downey Jr.’s villainous headwear at the Marvel Studios Comic-Con panel.
Marvel fans are donning Doctor Doom masks being given out in the room, chanting and screaming. H.E.R.B.I.E., the robot from “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” has been rolling around stage, greeting fans with robotic hellos amid the anxious wait for the panel to start, and the crowd is singing along to “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
Could ‘X-Men,’ ‘Black Panther’ news drop at Marvel’s Comic-Con panel?
08:28 PM ET, July 25 2026, Brendan Morrow
Going into Comic-Con, Marvel’s movie slate is uncharacteristically light for a studio known for laying out its feature film plans many years in advance.
We do know that this year’s “Avengers: Doomsday” will be followed by “Avengers: Secret Wars” in December 2027, similar to the way “Avengers: Infinity War” led into “Avengers: Endgame.” After “Secret Wars,” no Marvel films have specific release dates set, though a few are known to be in the works.
The big one is a reboot of “X-Men” set to be helmed by “Thunderbolts*” director Jake Schreier. A cast for the movie hasn’t been announced, though Comic-Con would certainly be a great place to do so. It has also been confirmed that “Black Panther 3” is in development. Might that movie get a release date or a title at Hall H?
After Deadline reported a “Nova” movie is in the works, news about that project could also be in play.
A “Blade” reboot with Mahershala Ali has also been stuck in development hell for years, though don’t get your hopes up for a Comic-Con update. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently told “Happy Sad Confused” he feels like a “gigantic loser and failure” for being unable to get “Blade” off the ground.
‘VisionQuest,’ more TV shows likely to be discussed during Marvel panel
08:02 PM ET, July 25 2026, Brendan Morrow
On the TV side, one of Marvel’s most imminent releases is the Disney+ series “VisionQuest,” so it would be surprising if the show didn’t have some presence at Comic-Con.
The series (premiering Oct. 14) serves as a follow-up to “WandaVision,” with Paul Bettany back as the Avengers’ resident android. By the end of “WandaVision,” a new version of Vision had regained the old one’s memories, though he isn’t emotionally attached to them. It premieres later this year but still hasn’t dropped a trailer, so the Comic-Con panel might be a good time for that.
Other shows that could be touched on include “Daredevil: Born Again” Season 3 and “Wonder Man” Season 2.
USA TODAY PLAY makes a Spider-Man splash at Marvel’s Comic-Con booth
07:20 PM ET, July 25 2026, Brian Truitt
Comic-Con isn’t just about movies and TV shows – it’s also all about comic books. As part of USA TODAY and Marvel Comics’ partnership, there was an exclusive special-edition cover of the USA TODAY paper last month on newsstands for the launch of the exclusive “Spider-Man TODAY” digital comic on the USA TODAY PLAY app. It proved a hot commodity, and to celebrate we teamed with Marvel to hand out copies at its Comic-Con booth to fans on the San Diego Convention Center floor. (Check out some cool video of the activation here.)
And hey, True Believers, you’ve got some time before the Marvel panel starts! Check out all six issues so far of “Spider-Man TODAY” right now.
Does Tom Holland have a ‘Brand New’ Spider-Man surprise in store for Comic-Con?
06:58 PM ET, July 25 2026, Brian Truitt
Tom Holland, Zendaya and their “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” costars are on a swing around the world promoting the new Marvel superhero movie, in theaters July 31. Could San Diego and the mighty Marvel panel be the latest stop before the LA premiere Monday? The cast was just in Shanghai on July 24, so it’s theoretically possible. Or maybe Holland sends some love to the Hall H faithful via video message. While we wait, check out our gallery of all of Holland and Zendaya’s “Brand New Day” red-carpet looks from the press tour.
See all of Tom Holland, Zendaya’s ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ looks
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(THOMAS COEX, AFP via Getty Images)
Marvel drops ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ trailer days before Comic-Con
06:32 PM ET, July 25 2026, Brendan Morrow
Many fans had assumed that Marvel would release the first full trailer for “Avengers: Doomsday” in conjunction with its Comic-Con panel.
But in a curveball, the trailer instead dropped online days ahead of the event, on Monday, July 20. This decision could suggest Marvel has bigger surprises in store for Comic-Con, considering it didn’t feel the need to save the “Doomsday” trailer release as its big Hall H finale.
Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers reunites with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor in the trailer for “Avengers: Doomsday.”
The trailer that was released online revealed Robert Downey Jr.’s look and sound as Doctor Doom and showed Thor being reunited with Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers, and it was largely the same as the footage shown to theater owners at the CinemaCon convention in April. So it’s also possible Marvel could show off some newer “Doomsday” footage at Comic-Con, such as a particular scene or new sizzle reel. For now, it’s anyone’s guess.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marvel intros Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider at Comic-Con — Live updates
