Doctor Strange 2 Casting To Pay Off THAT MCU Fan Theory?

It could just be that Campbell will carry on the tradition of playing the hilarious yet obnoxious characters who showed up in Spider-Mans one, two and three - appearing yet again to frustrate another hero in a given quest - or it could be that the film will see Campbell as a Mysterio of the multiverse, given Raimi's original plan was to have the character show up in Spider-Man 4 with Campbell underneath the villain's iconic fishbowl.

Of course, there are potentially crazier avenues we could explore too. Not to sound like a complete broken record or anything (I do realise I'm turning into the anime meme of that dude with the butterfly saying "is this Mephisto?"), but what if Raimi cast Campbell to play Marvel's ultimate demon, Mephisto, in his Doctor Strange follow up?

Sound bonkers? Maybe even a little like I haven't slept in eight weeks because WandaVision's mysteries continue to torment me in my dreams? Quite possibly, but don't tell me you can look at a picture of Campbell in a red suit and NOT think he could rock being the devil incarnate. Frankly, the thought of it is hilarious and wonderful and it absolutely now has to happen.

By far the best thing about this potential avenue though is that it would also maybe explain the variety of roles Campbell took on in Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. Not that they have to be explained or anything (really, it doesn't), but this would be the ultimate Marvel long game, showing how Mephisto could get his jollies from just minorly inconveniencing Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker. Y'know, when he's not erasing his marriage or bonding a flaming-skull entity to a stunt motorcyclist.

The thing Marvel fans need to remember is that Mephisto is a high energy, high banter character. He isn't just demonic and spooky - he's also ridiculously flamboyant and over the top, which was most recently seen in Jason Aaron, Al Ewing, CAFU and Jesus Aburtov's Valkyrie series from 2019. Yes, he's a big demonic presence who should probably bring a little threat and terror, but he can do that while being fun and Campbell would be such a good fit.

Chances are Campbell won't be the MCU's version of Mephisto, but for the sake of purely indulging those Raimi Spider-Man scenes and reminding everyone how Mephisto can be just as fun as he is terrifying, it's an option I sincerely hope crossed Marvel's minds at one point or another.