Marvel’s GHOST RIDER Could Finally Unleash Mephisto as a Major MCU Villain

Marvel fans spent years blaming Mephisto for practically every strange thing happening in the MCU.

The theories became a running joke during WandaVision, but Marvel eventually did introduce the demonic villain, just not in the massive, universe-shaking fashion longtime comic readers might have expected.

Now, Sacha Baron Cohen’s Mephisto is rumored to be headed for Ghost Rider, where the character could finally step out of the shadows and become the supernatural MCU threat he was always meant to be.

The report comes from Alex Perez of The Cosmic Circus, who was asked what he’s heard about Marvel’s upcoming Ghost Rider project starring Ryan Gosling as Johnny Blaze. While plot details apparently remain scarce, Perez says two pieces of information have made their way to him:

“It’s really early for any details on the plot. I’ve only heard two things: expect Sacha Baron Cohen as Mephisto and that he’ll be established by the time we get to his movie. (I.E., he’s been at this Ghost Rider stint for a hot minute).”

Rather than spending an entire movie turning Johnny Blaze into Ghost Rider, Marvel could introduce us to a version of the character who has already been tearing around as the Spirit of Vengeance.

Gosling’s Blaze could arrive with his powers, his flaming skull, his hellish ride, and presumably plenty of baggage from whatever deal put him on this path.

And if Mephisto is involved, that baggage could get ugly.

Mephisto has been around Marvel Comics for decades. Created by Stan Lee and John Buscema, the character is essentially Marvel’s ruler of Hell, or at least a demonic realm that humans perceive as Hell.

Collecting and enslaving souls is his game, and he isn’t particularly picky about where those souls come from.

Humans are his usual targets, but extraterrestrial souls are fair game as well. Mephisto has even claimed that his power exceeds Dormammu’s.

For longtime Marvel readers, putting him in a Ghost Rider story makes perfect sense. Johnny Blaze’s mythology revolves around demons, deals, damnation, vengeance, and supernatural forces fighting over souls. Mephisto doesn’t need to be awkwardly inserted into that world. He belongs there.

The MCU has already established Cohen’s version of the character, although viewers have barely scratched the surface of what he can actually do.

Mephisto’s big MCU debut involved striking a pact with Riri Williams in Ironheart in exchange for bringing Natalie Washington back to life.

It gave audiences a taste of his favorite kind of manipulation, but it certainly didn’t feel like the full arrival of one of Marvel Comics’ most dangerous supernatural villains.

Ghost Rider could change that in a big way. There could also be more supernatural Marvel villains joining the party.

When another fan asked Perez which antagonists might appear in the project, he suggested that Marvel could pull from plans it previously developed for the supernatural side of the MCU.

Perez explained: “Mephisto is definitely at the top of that list. However, if Marvel still wants to maintain parts of their original plans for their Supernatural storylines, I could totally see Lilith and Blackheart being involved here. And it would also give the chance for Mia Goth to debut in the MCU (finally),”

Mephisto, Lilith, and Blackheart in one Ghost Rider project would immediately give Johnny Blaze a nasty collection of supernatural problems to deal with.

The mention of Mia Goth is also interesting. Marvel fans have been waiting to see exactly how Goth will factor into the MCU, and a project drenched in demons and supernatural horror would certainly be a fun place for her to make an entrance.

Blackheart also comes with some Ghost Rider movie history. The villain previously appeared in the 2007 Ghost Rider film starring Nicolas Cage, but an MCU incarnation would give Marvel another shot at tapping into the character’s comic book roots.

Marvel has already scattered plenty of supernatural characters and concepts throughout the MCU, but Ghost Rider presents an opportunity to build an entire corner of the universe around them.

That’s also one of the things that makes the project exciting. A supernatural Ghost Rider movie doesn’t need to resemble another Avengers adventure with a flaming skull dropped into the middle of it.

Johnny Blaze opens the door to horror, demonic mythology, occult villains, hellish dimensions, and a completely different breed of Marvel storytelling.

Bringing Mephisto into that world as a major player would also finally pay off years of fan speculation surrounding the character.

For a long time, Mephisto was the answer fans jokingly gave whenever something mysterious happened in a Marvel show or movie.

After all those theories, Marvel finally introduced him, only for his initial MCU role to leave much of his larger potential untouched.

If this rumor proves accurate, Ghost Rider may be where Cohen’s Mephisto finally becomes the monster comic readers know he can be.

And putting him opposite Gosling’s Johnny Blaze sounds like one hell of a way to do it.