Marvel Studios hadn't explored the supernatural before WandaVision, so Mephisto's name rarely came up among fans. However, when the Disney+ series started hinting at him pulling Wanda Maximoff's strings, excitement to see the devil get his due was palpable.
He never showed, and despite receiving a name-drop in Agatha All Along, Mephisto was absent from that story as well. Things finally changed in last night's Ironheart finale when Sacha Baron Cohen made his official MCU debut as the fan favourite villain.
While we're left with more questions than answers regarding what the future holds in store (for him and Riri Williams), TV Line spoke with Ironheart Head Writer Chinaka Hodge about finally bringing Mephisto into this world.
"I thought I understood the magnitude of it," she acknowledged. "It wasn’t until these last few days where I really understood what it actually means as a run-on effect in the MCU — partly because we all work on our particular portion of the [MCU] pie, and partly because I could never imagine that little ol’ me would get to inherit such a big gift."
"[Getting] to work with Sacha was incredible," Hodge said of the BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning actor. "Incredible."
Season 2 of Ironheart hasn't been announced, and isn't likely to be. Marvel Studios has completely changed its approach to television since the series was shot, and that leaves us with a huge unresolved cliffhanger. Riri gave up her soul in return for the resurrection of her best friend, Natalie, so what does that mean for the hero?
"I can’t wait 'til audiences tune in and watch these six episodes, and then we get to see what happens next in the life of the MCU," the Head Writer hedged, adding that, "Audiences will help make that decision, of what happens next. So, tune in and show Disney and the MCU that we have a strong fan base for Ironheart."
When Entertainment Weekly pushed Hodge on whether Mephisto's introduction was mandated by Marvel Studios, she said, "That's a really great question. I wish I could answer it more plainly. It was not my decision alone. I was empowered by Marvel to make that decision. I don't know what will happen next with the character or with Sasha in the MCU. But as a fan, I'm really hoping to see him make lots of appearances."
In another conversation with Screen Rant, episodes 4-6 director Angela Barnes shed a little more light on what might be next for Mephisto in the MCU.
"Whatever happens after this, it's going to be that actor," she confirmed. "And the first actor that I could think of that would be the perfect fit for this, just in terms of being snarky but also a little scary, was Sacha Baron Cohen, who is the most delightful, lovely man you've ever met. But he just worked so hard, and he was so funny."
"But just him and his partner Peter, just in terms of trying to make sure that the character was right and that the way that we played him was right. And it just was a pleasure," the filmmaker continued. "So for me, I feel excited that I think we stick the landing on it. So I'm very excited to see what the rest of the fanbase thinks."
Of course, the second half of the season also saw Ezekiel Stane go full villain mode after being enhanced with the bionics he's so fascinated by. While the extent of his powers, so far, appear electricity-based, the MCU has added a potentially formidable new threat.
The site caught up with Alden Ehrenreich and wondered what might be next for Zeke. Original plans called for him to be revealed as the mastermind behind the Serpent Society's tech in Captain America: Brave New World, while an Armor Wars role also surely once beckoned. Unfortunately, that's been shelved.
"I think it's really interesting," Ehrenreich said of his character's new status quo. "The thing that I hope is really for Chinaka, who is really the leader of all this, to continue that vision that she has. I just think she found a way to make these characters both really fun and also feel personal and interesting. I love that about it — that it has different ways it can go and it has this depth."
All episodes of Ironheart are now streaming on Disney+.