As Doctor Strange challenges everything we know about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the world of the magical will start to unfold before our very eyes. The unexplained, and the mystical, stand to enrich the world of modern heroes that we've been watching fight for justice for almost 10 years now. And what better way to celebrate almost a decade of crime fighting than to up the ante a bit when it comes to the fate of the world, as the demon Mephisto is being hinted as coming to the MCU in the near future.
ComicBook.com has started to speculate very heavily about the nature of the demonic Marvel Comics character after Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star Gabriel Luna hinted at his presence in a separate interview (via Collider.) Luna theorized that Mephisto would be a great character to link the world of films like Doctor Strange to his portrayal of the Robbie Reyes variant of Ghost Rider, which is currently being introduced on TV. He said:
We're starting to tow the line and inch towards some ground that hasn't been covered, but that is a huge part of the books themselves and the entire Marvel universe and the canon of Marvel's assortment of characters. What we haven't touched on are things that can't be explained perfectly by science. It's a lot of really fun stuff that starts to lean into the world of Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider and Mephisto, and all of these other elements that also exist there, like ghouls and goblins and all sorts of cool things. We're happy to be the ones to break the ice on that.
This was all it took for Comic Book to spin off this line of thought into the following theory. Because Mephisto is a character rooted in the supernatural angle of the Marvel universe, movies like Doctor Strange and even the upcoming Avengers storyline centered around Thanos would open up the boundaries and allow the MCU to explore aspects that make the demonic creature the perfect fit for a villainous role. Even Thor: Ragnarok is expected to explore dark magic (as the Thor movies have in the past). Mephisto all of a sudden feels like a natural fit in the MCU.
This isn't the first time we've heard Mephisto's name being thrown around in the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon, as the horned beast has also been suggested as the main antagonist for The Defenders team-up series that promises to see all of Marvel's Netflix heroes coming together. Should all of the pieces come together, the one unifying threat that ties together all corners of the MCU could be our red skinned buddy, who has the power to look as big and bad or small and understated as he wishes to be. Budget and casting need not be an issue, as each arm of Marvel's universe could have its own version of the devil, and have it all make sense.
While his exact debut is a mystery, it's nice to know that there's a strong possibility that at this very moment, Mephisto and his wicked ways are starting to seep into the world of Marvel Studios' ever expanding franchise. Our superheroes and villains will never be the same once he, the Ghost Rider and Doctor Strange are through with it, as the more mystical and unexplained corners of the MCU take shape in the current phase. No matter what happens, it's good to know that the excitement is only just beginning in the deployment of the phase 3 apparatus.
You can see Ghost Rider as he's currently being introduced on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which airs Tuesday nights at 10 PM EST on ABC. Doctor Strange, on the other hand, will make his presence known to the world on November 4th.
