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Kevin Feige says that Marvel plans to include Sacha Baron Cohen's Mephisto in Marvel Phase 6.
"He was never part of WandaVision. We've talked about that. Matt's talked about that. Jack Schaefer's talk about that. He was never part of WandaVision," Feige explained at a press conference attended by GamesRadar+, when asked whether Mephisto was supposed to make an earlier debut in the MCU. "But the enthusiasm with which he was theorized on that was certainly cool and fun to watch. And he's another character that, pre-MCU, would have been hard to do. He's a devil. How do you do that character? But he's a formative character. He was a big part of Thanos' storyline in the comics. So again, now that he's here, the potential is clear."
When asked if the plan is to "use more" of Mephisto in the MCU in the future, Feige candidly replied, "Yes."
Mephisto made his comic book debut in The Silver Surfer #3, which hit shelves in 1968, initially intended to be a supervillain for the Silver Surfer and Ghost Rider. With the former joining the MCU imminently in the upcoming movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as Ozark's Julia Garner takes on the chrome-colored character, Feige and co do look to be setting the stage for the Beelzebub-esque baddie to have a prominent role going forward.
GamesRadar+ recently asked Garner whether she'd be interested in exploring her character Shalla-Bal's, girlfriend of the original Surfer Norrin Radd, historic run-ins with Mephisto, she replied with a grin: "Yeah, of course! You know, I had so much fun entering this universe. So [I'd be up for] anything. If they told me to come back in tomorrow, I would, so yeah, that would be lovely."
In the source material, Mephisto also went on to appear in Spider-Man's rogues gallery before crossing paths with Vision and the Scarlet Witch – which is why so many Marvel fans believed he was supposed to originally be in WandaVision, or had simply been lurking in the shadows the entire time. In short, there's a whole bunch of heroes he could go toe to toe with in a later project.
Ironheart marks the official debut of the character, which saw Riri (Dominique Thorne) make a deal with Mephisto (Cohen) in the season finale. Thorne previously revealed that she didn't even know who Cohen was playing until after they filmed their scenes together, implying that Marvel intended to keep the character's introduction shrouded in mystery. Ironheart marks the end of Marvel Phase 5, as The Fantastic Four: First Steps ushers in Marvel Phase 6 and brings about a new era.
Ironheart is streaming now on Disney Plus. In the meantime, fill out your watchlist with the other upcoming Marvel movies and shows, or get up to speed with our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
