MCU director Matt Shakman has finally confirmed WandaVision's real intentions for Mephisto.
While WandaVision stands as Marvel Studios' first Phase 4 project and its first Disney+ series, many fans remember the show for its countless fan theories with one of the most infamous being Mephisto (the Marvel Comics version of the devil).
Now, years after WandaVision revealed it was actually Agatha, not Mephisto, all along, series director Matt Shakman opened up about the fan-favorite rumor.
WandaVision's Actual Mephisto Plans
In talking with Inverse, WandaVision director Matt Shakman set the record straight on the notorious theory, saying, "Mephisto was never a part of [their] plan:"
“There were some deep readings of the text that led to certain conclusions that were wrong. Mephisto was never a part of our plan. So that was a head-scratcher. But hey, he's a great character.”
In the comics, Mephisto played a part in how Wanda Maximoff's children, Billy and Tommy, came into the world.
However, Shakman isn't the first from the WandaVision team to confirm the villain's absence from showplans.
In fact, series head writer, Jac Shaeffer, confessed that she "didn't know who Mephisto was" until doing press for WandaVision, saying the so-claimed Mephisto teases were merely a "coincidence."
But even though WandaVision creatives either didn't know about the character or chose to exclude him from the series, the Mephisto conversation has only continued in the years following the show.
Reportedly, Sasha Baron Cohen is playing Mephisto in Ironheart, Dominique Thorne's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Disney+ spin-off which is currently delayed.
Should Marvel Studios Use Mephisto?
WandaVision's lack of Mephisto may have frustrated speculating fans in early 2021. However, in retrospect, his absence was best for the show itself.
The hit Disney+ series already had a compelling villain of its own in Agatha Harkness, leading Marvel Studios to create a whole spin-off series around her alone which is due to debut in late 2024.
But now that Matt Shakman has confirmed Mephisto was "never a part" of his plan, the question moving forward is whether Marvel Studios should make showplans based on 2021 fan fervor.
While it's possible that Marvel had intentions for Mephisto all along, the character's presence in Ironheart feels more like a WandaVision reaction than a creative one.
For now, that remains to be seen; but in the meantime, Shakman's comments should finally put the years of WandaVision Mephisto talk to rest.
All episodes of WandaVision are available to stream now on Disney+.
