Concept art allegedly from Ironheart first did the rounds on social media in late 2022. The supposed leak contained three different designs for Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen's take on Mephisto, all of which were very punk rock-inspired.
While Cohen's villain is expected to be the one pulling The Hood's strings in Ironheart, there have been rumblings about him also factoring into Thunderbolts* (perhaps as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine's ally), Spider-Man 4, and even Avengers: Doomsday.
The only thing is, Cohen may not be playing Mephisto after all.
Making him the source of The Hood's powers seemed an easy way to finally bring a character into the MCU that fans once hoped would be a huge part of WandaVision. From there, the door would be open to Ghost Rider's introduction and so forth, and the Mephisto ball is one we've all run away with over the past few years.
Earlier today, artist Mushk Rizvi uploaded concept art for several past and upcoming MCU projects to her website...including Avengers: Doomsday. However, in a gallery of work from other MCU projects she's worked on, there's a character file labelled "Human Dormammu."
Only a handful of those designs were shared on social media before Rizvi took down here entire site. However, they're each wildly different and give the Doctor Strange villain a human form. We've been unable to verify whether this artwork is definitely for Ironheart, though it seems likely when you consider the fact that, in the comics, Dormammu is the source of The Hood's powers, not Mephisto.
Whether Cohen will play him remains to be seen, but the return of Mephisto is an exciting prospect and one that suggests Ironheart will indeed focus on magic versus science rather than giving the devil his due.
Set after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel Television’s Ironheart pits technology against magic when Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) - a young, genius inventor determined to make her mark on the world - returns to her hometown of Chicago.
Her unique take on building iron suits is brilliant, but in pursuit of her ambitions, she finds herself wrapped up with the mysterious yet charming Parker Robbins aka "The Hood" (Anthony Ramos).
The series also stars Lyric Ross, Alden Ehrenreich, Regan Aliyah, Manny Montana, Matthew Elam and Anji White. Chinaka Hodge is head writer and executive producer; episodes are directed by Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes.
Ironheart premieres on Disney+ on June 24, 2025.