Sacha Baron Cohen, who debuted as Mephisto in the MCU in 2025, says he thinks Mephisto has a better chance of coming back than Borat. The actor’s comments arrive as Marvel keeps details scarce about what happens next for Ironheart’s supernatural storyline.
Sacha Baron Cohen doesn’t sound ready to promise anything about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But when the question lands—whether the public will see Mephisto or Borat again first—he answers with certainty about one thing.
“I think Mephisto. I don’t know if Borat will ever return.”
Cohen delivered that line in an interview with Liam Crowley for Ladies First. where he also discussed his upcoming comedy movie co-starring Rosamund Pike. In the same exchange. the actor explained why Borat might not be back while insisting that Mephisto—his demonic MCU presence—still has a stronger shot at returning to screens.
Cohen’s relationship with Borat runs deep. He’s best known for playing satirical fictional characters who interact with unsuspecting people in the real world. including Borat Sagdiyev. originally one of the primary characters on Da Ali G Show. Borat later starred in his own 2006 mockumentary. Fourteen years after that. Cohen revived Borat for the sequel Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. which featured Maria Bakalova as Borat’s daughter. Tutar.
By contrast, Mephisto’s MCU story entered later and has been harder to pin down since. Cohen debuted as Mephisto in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2025, and Marvel Studios hasn’t offered clear updates on whether the character’s arc continues.
The path to that uncertainty runs through 2025’s Ironheart. After Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams appeared and then faced the supernatural after meeting Anthony Ramos’ Parker Robbins—also known as The Hood—Mephisto hit harder than anything the finale had previously suggested. The Ironheart episode ultimately gave the demonic entity a place on-screen, but it left fans waiting for the next move.
The episode “The Past is in the Past” shows Robbins making a deal with Mephisto in flashbacks in exchange for his magical cloak. In the present-day storyline, Riri makes her own deal with Mephisto. The result is a complicated double outcome: Riri’s friend Natalie is resurrected, but the cost shows up visually. Weird glowing veins representing the entity appear on Riri’s arms.
For all of that momentum, there has been no announcement signaling whether the Ironheart story will continue or whether Thorne will reprise Riri in any upcoming Marvel TV show.
Cohen’s remarks land inside a broader pause that fans have noticed. After Ironheart’s summer 2025 run, the Kathryn Hahn-led WandaVision spinoff Agatha All Along arrived a few months later. Since then, the MCU has largely avoided placing its magical and supernatural corner at the center. Upcoming Marvel movies and other projects instead skew toward street-level action like Spider-Man: Brand New Day. science fiction like VisionQuest. or cosmic-level storytelling like Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
The waiting period now has a clear cadence. Following Daredevil: Born Again season 2’s conclusion and the release of Marvel Studios Presentation The Punisher: One Last Kill, the next MCU chapter is set to unfold when Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives in theaters on July 31.
For Cohen personally. the Mephisto question is tied to something immediate and real: his new comedy movie co-starring Rosamund Pike. which he discussed alongside the franchise speculation. His answer—confident about Mephisto. doubtful about Borat—suggests that if the MCU brings Mephisto back. it won’t feel like a surprise so much as a delayed acknowledgment of a deal already made.
Ladies First will be available exclusively on Netflix starting Friday, May 22.
Mephisto’s comic roots trace back to 1968’s Silver Surfer #3, introduced by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema. The character is derived from the Faust legend antagonist Mephistopheles. In Marvel Comics, Mephisto has other frequent adversaries including Ghost Rider, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and Scarlet Witch.
Mephisto has also been portrayed in live action before. Peter Fonda played the character in 2007’s Ghost Rider, while Ciarán Hinds portrayed him in 2012’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.
Cohen, born October 13, 1971, in Hammersmith, London, England, stands 6 feet 3 inches tall. He is an actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director.
Sacha Baron Cohen Mephisto MCU return Ironheart Dominique Thorne Anthony Ramos Parker Robbins The Hood Natalie resurrected Netflix Ladies First Borat Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Rosamund Pike Spider-Man: Brand New Day