Here's How Ironheart Cast That Actor As The Latest Marvel Big Bad [Exclusive]

This article contains spoilers for "Ironheart."

Now that the first (and very possibly only) season of "Ironheart" has drawn to a close, fans of the "Iron Man"/"Black Panther" spin-off series have been left to ponder the uncertain futures of Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) and Natalie Washington (Lyric Ross) in the wake of the former making a deal with a character that could become one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's best villains if they choose to expand this little nook of the franchise. After a series of teases strewn across the first five episodes, Sacha Baron Cohen finally emerged from the shadows as Mephisto, a menacing yet seductive Faustian figure who has been pulling the strings of Parker Robbins, aka The Hood (Anthony Ramos).

The show ends on a cliffhanger, but it would seem to be an awfully big waste to cast a huge name like Cohen and not figure out a way to pit him against other protagonists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward. But until we learn when/if he might show up again, it's nifty to see the live-action version of the tricksy baddie strike a deal with Riri to resurrect her deceased best friend Natalie (who lives on as the Jarvis-esque AI assistant in her armor). Right now, it's unclear exactly how this pact could go bad for Riri — or if it will ever be addressed again.

/Film's Jacob Hall spoke with the series' executive producers, Zoie Nagelhout and Sev Ohanian, and asked them what viewers might be able to expect from Mephisto, Riri, and Natalie in the future if the MCU ever decides to return to the "Ironheart" narrative.

As Hall was wrapping up his interview (which you'll be able to hear in full on tomorrow's episode of the /Film Weekly podcast), he asked the EPs about why they chose to make Mephisto the major villain of "Ironheart." For Nagelhout, it was a surprisingly "serendipitous" match of seemingly disparate characters:

"Initially, there was conversation of following the comics, which involves leading to Dormammu, who is, in publishing, the entity behind Parker's powers. But as we explored that and as we sort of broke down what that would look like, we realized that there was a better thematic match with Mephisto. And as surprising as that is for an 'Ironheart' series [...] he just fit right into the themes of the show. The nature of ambition, the nature of what you will sacrifice for your ambitions, the cost of things, selfishness versus selflessness — it was all inherent to the storytelling we were already building."

As for getting Cohen to play an MCU villain, Ohanian credits Angela Barnes, who directed the final three episodes of "Ironheart," for pitching the comedic genius who gave us such gloriously goofy creations as Ali G, Brüno, and Borat. "Sacha was amazing, man," said Ohanian. "He was really gung-ho. He and his whole team read the comics and really got into the character and then helped develop some of the various looks."

When asked the difficult question of where "Ironheart" could potentially go from here, Ohanian had this to say:

"Riri's journey starts at a certain place and ends in such a crazy different place, especially if you think about what happens then and the ramifications for the rules of the MCU in general. I just can't wait to see her in another situation, and see how much of what she's going through is public, how much of it's secret. But again, like Zoie said, that's an open door. And just like with Zoie, I have every faith that we're going to see that come up. And whether it's another show or a season or movie or whatever it is, I know that when we see Riri, it's going to be a whole different version of her we've got to contend with."

This is all disappointingly vague, but the MCU seems to have moved on from this iteration of "Ironheart." It's a shame, because the series holds an impressive 86% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and seems to be hitting the Marvel sweet spot as far as fans are concerned. We'll just have to wait and see if the MCU throws a surprise save to rescue Riri and Natalie.

"Ironheart" is streaming now on Disney+.