Notice: This story incorporates spoilers from Marvel’s “Ironheart” Episode 6.
It’s been years of conspiracy theories and greedy at doable clues, however Mephisto has lastly entered the MCU, stay and in particular person — er, in demon? He confirmed up within the “Ironheart” finale and apparently, not even collection star Dominique Thorne knew it was going to be him till she arrived to set to shoot the scene.
“That’s after I knew, ‘Oh! OK, nice,’” she informed TheWrap with amusing. “Even the names had been faux. I imply, Marvel, hats off to them. They’re so dedicated to the lore and the secrecy that even us throughout the solid weren’t certain who it was really going to be.”
All through the primary season — it stays unclear whether or not it’ll be the solely season at this level — of the collection, now streaming on Disney+, the operating idea was that Parker Robbins obtained his magic hood from Dormammu, a villain Physician Unusual (Benedict Cumberbatch) seemingly took care of in his first solo movie.
Nonetheless, Dormammu is a significantly darkish being, so Zelma (Regan Aliyah) is fairly assured he’d have the ability to do that, and promptly informs Riri (Thorne). However when Riri comes nose to nose with the person herself, he laughs at the truth that she believes him to be Dormammu.
No, he’s Mephisto, the villain followers first began hoping to see again when WandaVision launched in 2021. “Ironheart” was introduced in 2020, and went into manufacturing in 2022, and granted, there have been stories floating again then that Sacha Baron Cohen had earned the position, however he was by no means formally confirmed.
“The identify within the script saved altering,” Thorne revealed. “And so it wasn’t till we shot that closing scene, I’m sitting nose to nose with Sacha Baron Cohen, the place I’m like, ‘Oh, he mentioned it. It’s Mephisto, right here we go. That’s who he’s.’”
You possibly can watch a part of TheWrap’s interview with Thorne within the video above.
Clearly, the “Ironheart” group knew how lengthy Mephisto’s identify had been whispered about, and in response to Thorne, they saved that in thoughts when discussing tips on how to set the tone for the precise reveal.
“It was simply, ‘That is one thing that followers have been ready for for a protracted, very long time, and that is going to be how they get it,’” she defined of the discussions on set on tips on how to go about it, tonally.
“Additionally, peeling again the curtain to grasp, ‘Oh, my goodness, that is who Parker Robbins has been speaking to this whole time? That is what the hood is related to? That is that man?’ Lastly getting a whole lot of these solutions, simply inside our personal storyline, much more for the MCU at giant. So undoubtedly, undoubtedly leaning into the entire anticipation for that closing second, for certain.”
The factor is, Riri Williams additionally appears to right away strike a take care of Mephisto, promoting her soul to get her finest good friend Natalie (Lyric Ross) again. As the ultimate moments of the episode come to an in depth, we see Riri now sporting the visceral, magic veins that Parker had throughout his again.
So, what does that imply for Ironheart? Has she turned to the darkish facet, formally?
“I don’t know,” Thorne teased. “We’d have to keep watch over her, is all I believe I can say for now.”
That mentioned, Thorne additionally admitted that, whereas the actor in her would like to lean full tilt into enjoying a villain, the actress additionally is aware of how essential the character of Ironheart is as an entire, and what her historical past means.
“I believe the model of me that’s additionally conscious of how a lot she means as a hero to so many younger women out there may be actually desirous to battle for that ethical no matter that she — it looks like she actually does need to lean into,” Thorne mentioned. “However I do actually assume there’s one thing there. I believe there’s one thing distinctive and funky concerning the authenticity of that crossroad.”
“I imply, yeah, I do know what the fitting factor to do is, however that is my finest good friend,” she continued. “I can’t get my father again. I can’t get my stepfather again, however my finest good friend? Proper now? Particularly as a teenager going by means of that specific transition of, , younger teenager-dom into younger maturity, that’s such a young time to have misplaced somebody so near you. Actually like dropping part of you.”
So, what’s going to Riri Williams’s future really maintain? We’ll simply have to attend for her subsequent look.
“Ironheart” is now streaming on Disney+.