Marvel writer Benjamin Percy wants Ryan Gosling’s Ghost Rider to embrace R-rated horror. The Spirit of Vengeance finally has a leading man, and Marvel confirmed the news at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2026. Shawn Levy is directing, Jonathan Tropper is writing, and the film is set to roar into theaters on July 28, 2028. Then a comics veteran showed up with a very specific, very fiery wish list.

While Marvel usually keeps its heroes safely inside PG-13 territory, one writer is ready to light that rulebook on fire.

Benjamin Percy wants Ryan Gosling’s Ghost Rider to embrace R-rated horror with a Hellraiser-style streak. The idea is to swap the polished superhero formula for dread, gore, and a hero who looks like he crawled straight out of the underworld. With cameras not set to roll until 2027, Percy has plenty of time to make his case before the film locks its tone.

“I would lean towards the R-rated horror version of the character and not do the standard cape and spandex,” the former Ghost Rider writer said as per X account of @ComicBook.

He then added, “I would really lean into, like, Johnny pulling hot chains out of his mouth, or his skin melting right off of him with a halo of flames around.”

The comments surfaced while Percy promoted Exoplanet, his November 2026 Audible Original sci-fi thriller, and @ComicBook shared the full statement on X. Percy has the credentials, having written Marvel’s Ghost Rider run since 2022 with body horror and demonic parasites. He believes standard MCU polish suits event stories or X-Men material, but Ghost Rider demands something more visceral. He also pointed to the current horror boom as proof that the timing is right.

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As Benjamin Percy dreams of flaming chains and melting skin, the film recruited an Oscar winner who knows epic visuals.

Linus Sandgren, the cinematographer behind Dune: Part Three, has joined Ghost Rider as director of photography, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The production also plans to roll cameras on real film stock in New York in 2027, a throwback in a franchise known for pixels. Sandgren won an Oscar for La La Land, so Ryan Gosling gets a reunion with a collaborator who already knows how to make him look good.

Heated Rivalry breakout Connor Storrie is reportedly in talks to play a villain, though that remains unconfirmed. Gosling’s exact Ghost Rider is unspecified, though Johnny Blaze is the widely expected pick after Nicolas Cage played him in two PG-13 Sony films. Sandgren’s arrival is a rare MCU win for Gosling’s Ghost Rider. Director Shawn Levy and screenwriter Jonathan Tropper previously teamed up with Gosling on Star Wars: Starfighter, and Levy also directed Deadpool & Wolverine, the first R-rated film in the MCU. That gives Benjamin Percy’s R-rated horror pitch a real precedent to lean on.

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What are your thoughts on Benjamin Percy’s R-rated pitch for Ghost Rider? Let us know in the comments.