Comic-Con in San Diego is never silent, but somehow this year, Marvel Studios was able to make it even louder. With a single presentation, Marvel confirmed a new Black Panther, handed the flaming head of Ghost Rider over to Ryan Gosling, and provided Hall H a preview of the approaching storm in Avengers Doomsday. This was not just promotion, this was a story continuing to be told. And then some of the most emotionally charged moments when Ryan Coogler took to the stage and announced David Jonsson as the adult son of T’Challa. At the end of Wakanda Forever he played a young boy. Now he played a different young man who would be leading the Black Panther film arriving December 2028.
His was not a name that had been on anyone’s Academy Award list. Jonsson, best known for his work in Industry and Alien Romulus and the Long Walk had appeared on stage clearly overcome. Jonsson spoke of blessing and privilege. Coogler and cast members Letalia Wright and Winston Duke looked on. Unknown by many, Coogler met him in secret and shared with Kevin Feige that he was found the right actor. A huge decision for the franchise and one that continues the careful handoff of a film series deepened by the presence of Boseman.
Next was almost as unexpected: the appearance of Ghost Rider. Ryan Gosling entered after a darkened auditorium and red-mood lighting announced Shawn Levy would direct his eventual solo filmscheduled for 2028. Gosling will play the spirit of vengeance in a film designed to stand on its own. Gosling has actually talked about playing the role for a long time. Levy’s work on Deadpool and Doctor Strange: Wolverine as well as their work together on the Star Wars project Starfighter would seem to suggest the sensibility will translate. It feels though more deliberate than opportunistic.
Through all of this, one thing could be felt hovering in the background: the ever-present Avengers Doomsday. A handful of new footage that played exclusively to those in Hall H featured Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom on a throne as Sue Storm’s voice talked about the man he used to be. This sequence placed Doom more explicitly alongside the Fantastic Four and showed him as the leader of a force of Sentinels. Though the Russo brothers were still in charge, the December 2026 release felt much more imminent in the theater. On stage, cast members from across the universe of the film took their places, and the masses left with Doom masks given away before the panel.