Eva Mendes celebrates Ryan Gosling’s 'Ghost Rider' role with throwback video

Eva Mendes celebrated Ryan Gosling’s casting as Marvel’s new Ghost Rider by sharing a nostalgic throwback from the film where their love story began.

The actress took to Instagram on Sunday after Gosling was announced as the lead in the upcoming Ghost Rider film at San Diego Comic-Con. To mark the milestone, Mendes posted footage from The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), the film the couple worked on after meeting on set in 2011.

“From this intro only I thought Ryan Gosling can be a perfect casting for Ghost Rider role,” Mendes wrote alongside a clip showing Gosling as motorcycle stuntman Luke.

She signed off the post with, “Love, Roxy,” referencing her role as Roxanne Simpson in the 2007 Ghost Rider film starring Nicolas Cage.

How Eva Mendes marked Ryan Gosling’s Ghost Rider casting

Mendes also shared another throwback on her Instagram Stories featuring scenes of the couple's characters together in The Place Beyond the Pines.

Reposting a fan edit from Cinema Encyclopedia, she wrote, “Ghost Rider in a parallel universe. Gracias @cinema.encyclopedia for this beautiful parallel universe connection.”

The original post highlighted the connection between the couple, noting that Gosling's Marvel casting comes 19 years after Mendes appeared as the female lead in the original Ghost Rider film.

Mendes and Gosling began dating after filming The Place Beyond the Pines and have since welcomed two daughters, Esmeralda Amada, 11, and Amada Lee, 9.

Ryan Gosling joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con that Gosling, 45, will star in a standalone Ghost Rider film directed by Shawn Levy, with a theatrical release planned for 2028.

The actor surprised fans by appearing on stage during Marvel's Hall H presentation.

“As you know, this is a character I’ve wanted to play for a long time,” Gosling told the audience.

The casting follows years of speculation. In 2022, Gosling expressed interest in playing Ghost Rider during a conversation with Happy Sad Confused host Josh Horowitz, prompting Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to say he would “love to find a place” for the actor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Earlier this year, Gosling confirmed there had been movement behind the scenes.

“We’ll keep hope alive,” he said. “Some discussions have been had. It’s a complicated situation.”

Feige later revealed that the project came together after Gosling and Levy, who are also collaborating on Star Wars: Starfighter, pitched their idea for the Marvel film.

Ghost Rider is scheduled to arrive in cinemas in 2028.