For MCU fans, so much of the lead-up to any upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows is inherently tied to parceling through endless rumors to suss out which ones are most likely, and which aren’t worth the time it takes to read them. One of the more hard-to-ignore points of speculation in recent years has been the theoretically imminent arrival of the villainous comic string-puller Mephisto, who fueled seemingly every other fan theory that came out of WandaVision’s run. For months, Borat comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has been affixed to Mephisto rumors by way of a reported casting, and it looks like Marvel has finally been able to confirm at least one part of that.
Sacha Baron Cohen Confirmed For Ironheart Cast
To be fair, rumors about Sacsha Baron Cohen joining the upcoming Disney+ series Ironheart have been sputtering around for seemingly as long as we’ve known about Riri Williams’ standalone miniseries. Now, Marvel has confirmed the full Ironheart cast list via a filing with the U.S. Copyright Office, and you can bet your bippy that the Ali G Show creator is part of that official lineup.
Here’s the thing, though. Instead of being extremely clear and up front about things, Marvel’s copyright filing offers an additional layer of speculation fodder. Because Cohen isn’t specifically noted as playing Mephisto, but rather is given the presumably false moniker of “Mystery Man.” But that’s not stopping any amount of guesswork, understandably.
Is Mystery Man MCU-Speak For Mephisto?
The easy theorization route would be to go with “Yes, Mystery Man is just a pseudonym that Marvel is giving Mephisto to continue throwing fans off the trail.” After all, supposed details about the actor’s upcoming role weren’t just shared in a one-off vacuum, but have been the subject of several different reports that came out during Ironheart’s principal production.
Not only was Sacha Baron Cohen linked to the devilish character, but details about his alleged plotline also spread around. Particularly the notion that Mephisto, or an iteration of the character, is the entity responsible for buying up Avengers Tower, which would answer a long-held question that has gone unaddressed for years now. The idea is that the MCU’s Mephisto is heavily invested in advanced, high-end technology, which is what reportedly puts Dominique Thorne’s MIT-conquering hero in the villain’s sightlines, with Anthony Ramos’ The Hood rumored to be invested in that arc as well.
But then the flip side of that coin would be that Marvel has some kind of switcheroo planned here, since it’s a bit baffling for Cohen’s casting to remain unexplained when such a large swath of the fanbase may already be convinced of Mephisto’s arrival. This is obviously old-hat behavior for the MCU, and since no one will ever forget the bizarre nature of Ben Kingsley’s turn as Trevor Slattery in Iron Man 3, that may play into why no one is willing to double down on linking Bruno star to Mephisto proper.
The hellacious villain sparked fan interest even before WandaVision, as influenced by Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. introducing Ghost Rider and other supernatural-leaning characters, but theories abound throughout that season (which can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription). To the point where I’ve partially convinced myself that the frequent Agatha Harkness series name changes are themselves an indicator of Mephisto’s impending arrival.
So what does everyone else think? Are we certain that Sacha Baron Cohen is set to don horns and an evil mustache as Mephisto, or are we more likely to see Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark returning from the dead for a new Iron Man appearance? Either way, I’ll be watching.
Ironheart currently doesn’t have a premiere date set in stone, as its initial 2023 window was pushed back to allow for Kevin Feige & Co. to reassess the Multiverse Saga phases. Hopefully it arrives sooner than the copyright notice’s 2025 date, though, or else we might forget who Mephisto even is.