Marvel has made a habit of casting that looks like a prank on paper and a stroke of genius on screen. Ryan Reynolds was handed the foul-mouthed Deadpool as though the role had been waiting for him all along, and Robert Downey Jr. took Iron Man, then a risky bet, and turned him into the cornerstone of an empire. Sacha Baron Cohen’s Mephisto in Ironheart belongs on that list, a devil in the details who proved as good a fit as the horns.

Then came the usual trouble with devils: after the Ironheart finale, he all but vanished, leaving the Lord of Lies to lie low.

Now, with Marvel keeping a few surprises in the pipeline, reports say Mephisto is crawling back into the MCU. Whether that is a genuine summons from below or merely fans conjuring what they would like to see is another matter.

With Marvel at the brink of several new projects, the chances for Sacha Baron Cohen's return as Mephisto seemed more than likely. Now, crowned scooper Daniel Richtman has suggested that the actor will be putting his horns back for Ghost Rider. Given how the main villain for Ghost Rider is Mephisto, this might not be a difficult catch. However, nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

While Daniel Richtman's scoop on his Patreon says that Sacha Baron Cohen is set to return as Mephisto in Ghost Rider, earlier this week the actor told Josh Horowitz that he does not know if he is going to reprise the role. The chances of this being a version of Andrew Garfield denying his return as Spider-Man or simply being a no, tand at equal grounds.

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While it remains unclear whether or not Sacha Baron Cohen will step into the shoes of Mephisto again, he looks back at his time with the horns on with warmth.

Versatility has always been Sacha Baron Cohen’s calling card, so a devil’s role unlike anything on his résumé was a part he could hardly refuse, and a place in the MCU was a pleasant bonus besides. Yet it is neither the horns nor the Marvel badge he recalls most fondly. What stays with him is the warmth of the team and the care they took over his Jewish heritage. While speaking to Josh Horowitz, the actor recalled how sensitive the team had been towards him.

"We want to make sure that you’re not insulted by us offering this," Cohen remembered the Marvel team telling him.

Cohen said he found the approach considerate and was happy to proceed. With memories this fond, a return is not hard to imagine, and he has said to ScreenRant that Mephisto is likelier to come back than Borat.

So, is Sacha Baron Cohen returning as Mephisto? For now, nobody is saying. Marvel has confirmed nothing, and Cohen himself has no idea whether the devil will turn up in Ghost Rider. The goodwill is there, but the devil, as ever, is in the details, and Marvel is keeping those to itself.

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Do you think Sacha Baron Cohen will return as Mephisto? Let us know in the comments.