Marvel Studios' surprise announcement at San Diego Comic-Con that Ryan Gosling will star in a new Ghost Rider film has sparked speculation that it could pave the way for Mahershala Ali's long-delayed Blade to finally join the MCU. Both characters are founding members of the Midnight Sons, a supernatural vigilante team from the comics, suggesting Marvel could use Ghost Rider as the springboard for a mystic-themed crossover that would let Blade appear without needing a solo film of his own, potentially solving the well-documented troubles plaguing his standalone reboot.

The Midnight Sons first appeared in Marvel comics in 1992 as a crossover branding exercise spanning titles including Ghost Rider, Morbius, Nightstalkers (featuring Blade) and Darkhold: Pages From the Book of Sins, uniting against the demonic villain Lilith before the line folded by 1995. The team name resurfaced in 2009's Marvel Zombies 4 and later during the Damnation and Blood Hunt comic events, gradually adding characters such as Moon Knight, Doctor Voodoo and Magik, though the roster has never been fixed, giving film-makers flexibility. With the Multiverse Saga wrapping up via Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, and other projects like an X-Men reboot and Black Panther 3 already confirmed, the article argues a Midnight Sons film built around Gosling's Ghost Rider is a logical route to finally bring Ali's Blade into the MCU.