Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige announced this week that Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen) is the “big bad” in the next round of Marvel Cinematic Universe content, but on Wednesday, Cohen made that pretty clear himself. Men’s Fitness UK published a new photoshoot with Cohen, highlighting a shredded new physique and workout regimen. The actor has come a long way form his lime green singlet in Borat, and he says that it’s all in preparation to make more appearances in Mephisto in the coming years. Cohen debuted his take on the character in Ironheart earlier this month, but it’s not clear yet if he will return in any of the next few movies and TV shows on the slate, or bide his time until the Multiverse Saga is over.
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Cohen was eager to share the story of his transformation with Men’s Fitness, as was his personal trainer, Alfonso Moretti. The two were introduced by Matthew McConaughey, and Moretti joked that in the beginning, Cohen “looked like a ruler, straight up and down.” However, Cohen has some experience with kickboxing, and Moretti suspected that he was “an athlete in hiding.” He said that Cohen stuck to his diet and exercise with the focus of a method actor, and the results speak for themselves.
The timeline here is a little hard to pin down. It’s possible Cohen went through this process in preparation for Ironheart, but that series did most of its filming in 2022, and in the end, Cohen’s brief appearance didn’t give him much of a chance to flex his new muscles. It seems more likely that this was meant to prepare Cohen for his future as the MCU’s next main villain, but if so, it seems a little premature. Avengers: Doomsday is filming now, and the Multiverse Saga isn’t expected to conclude until Avengers: Secret Wars premieres in December of 2027. If Cohen is the villain of the next story after that, he’ll have to stay shredded for quite some time.
That’s why many commenters are already speculating that Mephisto has a role to play in something much closer at hand. After all, it would be a shame to tease this villain only to set him on the backburner while Doctor Doom wreaks havoc. Then again, the MCU has had Mephisto on the back burner since 2012 already, and that hasn’t dampened fans’ anticipation.
A recent rumor hinted that Marvel will soon be adapting the 2018 comic book storyline “Damnation,” which will take place across several movies and series. Mephisto is at the heart of that story in the comics, though Marvel always changes its plots in the adaptation process. However this story manifests, it would likely take place after the “reset” Feige has been teasing in the next round of Avengers movies.
At the earliest, our Mephisto questions may be answered on Friday, July 25th, when The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters. Knowing the MCU, there’s no telling what the longest outlook might be.
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