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“In my heart, no. I hope this doesn’t upset anyone, but Mephisto has never interested me,” Schaeffer said. “But we have an early, early document that included him in a potential antagonist, but I don’t remember ever really taking that seriously. And also, within the MCU, logistically, it wasn’t right for our show. I will say, it was not my intention to toy with anyone with the Mephisto stuff. I think I just continue to underestimate the appetite for Mephisto among the fan base.”
And to be fair, there is quite the appetite for Mephisto among fans. When the third episode of Agatha All Along name-dropped Mephisto, fans were surprised and it spawned a whole new set of theories: that Mephisto was behind that sigil, that it was Mephisto who was really behind setting Teen along the path of The Witches’ Road, even that Rio could be Mephisto in disguise. However, when the credits rolled on Agatha All Along, there wasn’t a Mephisto in sight. The sigil turned out to be Lilia’s doing, the Road ended up not being “real” and instead was something that Billy manifested with his own magic, and Rio? Well, she turned out to be Death. However, even with Mephisto not actually appearing in Agatha All Along, the series did give fans something significant. By mentioning the character by name, it means that Mephisto does exist in the MCU even if he hasn’t appeared yet.
[RELATED: Marvel Made Agatha All Along Showrunner Use Very Specific Wording About Wanda Being Alive or Dead]
More than that, the confirmation that Mephisto exists paired with part of Schaeffer’s comments — specifically, “also within the MCU, logistically, it wasn’t right for our show” — and her confirmation that Mephisto did at least briefly enter the conversation, it seems like there could be longer term plans for the fan-favorite antagonist to appear. That means the anticipation and theories can start looking forward to other potential appearances. One of the most likely is a third Doctor Strange film. Given how connected Doctor Strange ended up being in Wanda’s story thanks to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the whole Darkhold of it all, Mephisto making his arrival as more than just a passing mention, the rumored Doctor Strange 3 is as good a place as any. Additionally, Agatha All Along did end with Billy and Ghost Agatha heading out into the world to find Tommy and that presents an opportunity as well.
Does the MCU Even Need Mephisto?
While Mephisto wasn’t really ever intended for Agatha All Along and that may be disappointing for fans, the series not introducing the character also has begun to prompt another question about the devil: does the MCU even need Mephisto? Other considerations for a big bad with connections to magic and witchcraft in the MCU include Blackheart — a character some theorized was the actual identity of Aubrey Plaza’s Rio until that big Death reveal. There’s also Chthon, an Elder God who became the first master of black magic in Marvel who could end up having a role in things. And, interestingly, Chthon was a character that many theorized about during WandaVision, too.
Agatha All Along is now streaming on Disney+.
