RUMOR: Sacha Baron Cohen Playing Mephisto?

Television

Another Marvel rumor is making the rounds, and it’s… awful. ComingSoon.net has accumulated several Twitter accounts whose sources tell them that Mephisto will finally make his MCU debut in Ironheart, and he’ll be played by Sacha Baron Cohen. Mephisto is essentially Marvel’s version of the Devil, an all-powerful demonic entity that often makes Faustian deals with mortals. Sacha Baron Cohen is the guy who played Borat. A match made in – one hesitates to say “heaven,” even sarcastically, given the character in question. Initially, the word was that Cohen would play Dormammu, but that was soon amended to Mephisto. Here are the tweets:

CORRECTION: This is one time I can say i’m glad to update a rumor. Sasha Baron Cohen may be playing a dark lord, but it isn’t Dormammu. The moment fans have been waiting for since WandaVision is here. Sasha will finally bring #Mephisto to the MCU in #Ironheart. pic.twitter.com/58amzlBYDX

— MCU Status (@MCUStatus) October 15, 2022

I don't want to be a "coattails rider" here but yes I hear, and have some confidence, that Sacha Baron Coen is involved with #Ironheart.
I believe he's not Dormammu and that the Mephisto rumors may be true. Time will tell. https://t.co/BNFzZqY5iN

— Lizzie Hill – EiC The Cosmic Circus (@MsLizzieHill) October 15, 2022

I’m sure there are people who think Cohen is secretly one of the greatest actors ever because they love saying things like that about every comedian who tries his hand at drama, but this sounds to me like Marvel is turning yet another potentially great character into a big joke. Debuting Mephisto on Ironheart is funnier than this character will likely be; it’s clearly to get the audience to tune into a show no one particularly wants, like bringing Daredevil, Hulk, Abomination, and Wong onto She-Hulk (while Jen laughably insists that it’s her show). Suddenly, Ironheart goes to something easily skippable to appointment television in the hopes of seeing a character fans have been awaiting since at least WandaVision. But how excited can anyone be when Ali G is going to be playing him?

This one will really make you weep, though; a rumor from Twitter user MyTimeToShine says that Marvel initially wanted Giancarlo Esposito to play Mephisto:

Fun fact they wanted Giancarlo Esposito for that role first but looks like he turned it down. https://t.co/1CPdCiI6Ng

— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) October 15, 2022

I don’t know how accurate that is, but it’s all kind of rickety at this point anyway, so let’s play. If it’s true, this is a major disappointment because Giancarlo Esposito would have made an incredible Mephisto. It does seem like a tonal shift; Esposito would likely have been much more serious in the part, unless they wanted him to play it broadly comedic too. It’s just another reason to skip Ironheart (unless I end up reviewing it).

Do you think Sacha Baron Cohen will make a good Mephisto? Are you a fan of the character? Is there a chance in hell (see what I did there?) that Mephisto doesn’t say “Is nice” at some point? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to Geeks + Gamers for more demonic Marvel casting rumors!