Is Sacha Baron Cohen Playing Marvel's Mephisto? Here's What We Know So Far
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has continuously seen plenty of comic book characters make their big live-action debuts over the years, but arguably one of the most hotly anticipated figures from the source material is still missing in action. For years, fans have wondered just when — and where — the demonic Mephisto will make his debut. The potential appearance of the character in the MCU has been so heavily speculated upon that the discourse has become one of the biggest community in-jokes, with fans jokingly theorizing that random characters in various MCU projects might turn out to be Mephisto. However, recent rumblings suggest that Mephisto's time may truly be at hand — and that he might be played by a certain "Borat" alum.
In October 2022, rumors swirled that none other than Sacha Baron Cohen would be joining the MCU as Mephisto. A number of alleged insiders, including @MyTimeToShineH on X (formerly Twitter) and Lizzie Hill of The Cosmic Circus, supported the idea, noting that Baron Cohen's version of the demon would make his first appearance in the Disney+ series "Ironheart." While this rumor hasn't yet been conclusively proven true or false, there have been some intriguing updates in the time since the original rumor that are worth going over.
Baron Cohen is joining the MCU, but as whom?
In the time immediately following the first rumblings that Sacha Baron Cohen would be joining the MCU as Mephisto, it became clear that this bit of information had more substance than the average, run-of-the-mill rumor. Deadline soon reported that a source close to the "Ironheart" production had verified that Baron Cohen would indeed be part of the show and was likely portraying Mephisto. A further Deadline report alleged that Baron Cohen's character requires CGI effects and would appear later in the show's run. Still, Baron Cohen's involvement with "Ironheart" hadn't yet been officially confirmed — that is, until roughly a year later.
In September 2023, Marvel Studios filed information regarding the pilot of "Ironheart" with the United States Copyright Office. The filing features a number of facts related to the production, including the date that work began on the project, a brief series synopsis, and the show's cast. Sure enough, among the actors listed in the filing is Baron Cohen. However, he is credited as playing a character referred to only as "Mystery Man." As such, it's still unconfirmed whether this character turns out to be a new MCU villain, but there's a level of intrigue in the vague description that implies some sort of major reveal.
To sum up, it has been confirmed that Baron Cohen is joining the MCU in "Ironheart," but not necessarily as Mephisto. However, the accuracy of the rumors that predicted Baron Cohen's involvement suggests there is a strong likelihood he is indeed playing Marvel's famous demon antagonist. Then, there's the matter of another, related rumor, which suggests that "Ironheart" may not be the only upcoming project Baron Cohen's Mephisto is part of.
Could Baron Cohen's Mephisto be getting his own special?
Prior to the official confirmation that Sacha Baron Cohen would be part of the cast of "Ironheart," another rumor spread in early 2023 that the actor's version of Mephisto might be jumping onto a couple of other projects as well. In an episode of "The Hot Mic" podcast, ostensible Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider alleged that Baron Cohen's Mephisto would not only be appearing in some capacity in "Agatha: Darkhold Diaries" but that he would also receive his very own Marvel Special Presentation similar to "Werewolf By Night."
Baron Cohen's Mephisto appearing in these two projects would make sense, perhaps even more so than "Ironheart," considering the character's ties to the occult side of Marvel. However, this rumor may have less validity than the original one surrounding Baron Cohen and Mephisto. After Sneider's report, alleged insider Charles Murphy of Murphy's Multiverse tweeted that Disney had told him that a Mephisto-focused MCU special is not in the works. Indeed, no such project has materialized in the time following the emergence of the rumor.
While Baron Cohen's Mephisto may not be getting a special all to himself, it stands to reason that he would nonetheless be showing up in projects beyond "Ironheart." After all, Mephisto is an extremely important antagonist in Marvel lore, and he has ties to a number of other major characters, such as Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. If Baron Cohen is indeed portraying Mephisto in the MCU, expect to see quite a bit of him moving forward.