Originally published at: It looks like Sacha Baron Cohen is going to play Marvel's Mephisto | Boing Boing
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“ I guess when Mephisto fights the Silver Surfer this time around, he’ll be doing it in an absurd accent while wearing a speedo. ”
Or - just maybe- he could act. Portray a different character on the screen. It happens.
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MCU/DCU are racing to see who can get to the bottom on the barrel first.
He’s only ever been nominated for an Oscar, never won. He just might not have the acting ability to convincingly pull that off. \s
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Mephisto is a subtle, nuanced character. Not over the top at all. More of a Merchant and Ivory type.
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The problem here isn’t Sacha Baron Cohen, it’s the studio/leadership/directors.
SBC is a great actor who could absolutely play Mephisto - and well. Well, as well ask asked and directed by a talented director etc. Don’t sell SBC short, he’s full of surprises, fearless and likely to be the best part of the movie.
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Right, who could ever believe a comedic actor could work as a superhero or villain?
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I’m not a big fan of Borat, but Cohen is a talented actor and writer. I, too, think the MCU has leaned a little too much into the comedy lately, but most of their movies are still good and do really well at the box office, so let’s not paint them as a foundering studio just yet, because they clearly aren’t. Also, CBR isn’t that reliable a source. I’ll believe this when it’s confirmed. There have been too many Mephisto predictions throughout the history of the MCU for me to get excited and/or prepared for disappointment until I hear it from Kevin Feige.
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Sacha Baron Cohen is better known for comedy for sure, but if you look at his filmography, he’s done a fair amount of serious fare, like The Trial of the Chicago Seven and Les Miserables (and has won or been nominated for a lot of awards for it). As it is, his over-the-top and crude brand of comedy is about very serious subjects, so he very much has something to say. If he were to be cast as Mephisto, they could do a lot worse.
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Completely agree. The reason that he is so associated with Borat and Ali G is because he does an excellent job of embodying those characters to the point where people have a hard time separating them from him, which is a skill that is not limited to comedy, called acting.
Oh, and welcome to the bbs!
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He was scary good as Abbie Hoffman in that movie.
Welcome to BoingBoing!
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Marvel has many gods and many devils—Mephisto is a devil in the same way Thor is a god
AIUI the closest thing they have to a the devil devil is the One Below All, who doesn’t talk much and seems unlikely to show up in a movie because he most recently appeared in The Immortal Hulk 
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“Sacha Baron Cohen is playing Mephisto” has been rumored for so many years… going back to at least 2016, every new movie (or just rumors of a movie), would spawn stories that he would play Mephisto as the secret big bad. If it turns out to be true, it’ll only be because someone at Marvel saw the fan casting and said, “Hey, that’s not a bad idea…” and made it true. I’m skeptical, given how long and how often I’ve been reading this rumor, though - most of the movies he was rumored to be cast for only existed in fans’ minds, in the end.
Was just about to post his IMDB…
But yeah, dude’s got range!
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All he’d have to do is cut the shoulder straps, let the speedo hang down like a loincloth, and half the costume is done.
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