Mister Terrific Actor Edi Gathegi Says He Was 'Assured' His Killed Off X-Men Character Would Return in Future Films, but Well-Received Superman Role Is More Than Making Up for It
Edi Gathegi is wowing audiences as the scene-stealing Mister Terrific in James Gunn’s Superman, but his big-screen superhero journey got off to a troubling start.
Gathegi played Darwin, the short-lived mutant in 2011’s X-Men: First Class (which, coincidentally, starred Lex Luthor actor Nicholas Hoult as Hank / Beast). In the film, Darwin is able to reactively evolve (hence the name), but is easily killed by Sebastian Shaw. X-Men fans were surprised at Darwin’s fate, given the character’s established invulnerability in the comics.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gathegi recalled how he had serious concerns about the plot of X-Men: First Class, which he expressed to his agent.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R24e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R44e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe“I was in London after I’d just been offered the role, and they gave me a couple of hours to read the script to determine whether or not I wanted to do it,” Gathegi explained.
“So I read it, and I called my agents to say, ‘Hey, listen, I have a problem with the fact that this character is the only Black character in the film aside from Zoë Kravitz’s character. I am also the only mutant who meets an untimely demise halfway through the film.’ It was 2009 at the time, and I was like, ‘Killing the Black guy first is so played out. I can’t do this.’”
Gathegi said that following talks, he was “assured” that Darwin’s death as we see it in X-Men: First Class was part of a long-term storytelling plan that would have seen his character brought back to life in future films in the franchise.
“So there were conversations that happened, and then they assured us that it was essential for the storytelling in order to motivate the mutants to avenge my [character’s] death,” he said. “They also fully intended to bring my character back as they do in the comics. [Darwin] can’t die; he regenerates. So we held onto the hope that they would honor their word.”
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R29e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R49e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeThis, however, did not happen, and Darwin failed to return in any of the subsequent Fox X-Men films (Days of Future Past, Apocalypse, or the most recent X-Men movie, Dark Phoenix). This, Gathegi said, came as a “surprise.”
“... I thought that I would be returning to that franchise over and over again,” he said. “I thought that there was potential for a bigger future. It was actually a surprise to never get the call to suit up again.”
Then: “... the way that they handled my character was a fumble.”
The X-Men Movies in (Chronological) Order
The X-Men franchise is a beloved collection of 13 movies that began all the way back in 2000. If you're wondering how to watch them in chronological order, look no further.
X-Men: First Class (2011)Where to Watch: Disney+ X-Men: First Class is the start of a new X-Men chapter that rewinds the clock to the earliest point on the film franchise’s timeline. The film begins in 1944 at the Auschwitz concentration camp before jumping ahead to 1962.
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)Where to Watch: Disney+, FX X-Men: Days of Future Past is a bit hard to place on the timeline as it features the X-Men from both the original films and the newer ones. Much of the story takes place in 1973, but plenty of time is spent in an alternate version of 2023 as well.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)Where to Watch: Disney+, FX The first X-Men spinoff movie starts back in 1845, but the bulk of the story is set in 1979 and explores the… well, origin of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.
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X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)Where to Watch: Disney+, FX X-Men: Apocalypse stars Oscar Isaac as En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse and pits him against our reboot X-Men crew. While the film starts all the way back in 3600 BC, much of the story is set in 1983.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)Where to Watch: Disney+ X-Men: Dark Phoenix is the last film starring the X-Men crew led by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, and it tells the story of the transformation of Sophie Turner’s Jean Grey into Phoenix. The film begins in 1975 but takes place mostly in 1992.
X-Men (2000)Where to Watch: Disney+ Due to how these movies play out, the switch from Dark Phoenix into X-Men doesn’t happen as smoothly as a film like Rogue One transitions to A New Hope, but the first X-Men live-action film does fit next into the timeline as it takes place in the early 2000s.
X2: X-Men United (2003)Where to Watch: Disney+ Taking place not too long after the original, X2: X-Men United picks up the story as a brainwashed Nightcrawler attempts to murder the President of the United States.
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X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)Where to Watch: Disney+ X-Men: The Last Stand was the first live-action film to tell the Phoenix story, but in terms of the series’ internal chronology, it is the second.
The Wolverine (2013)Where to Watch: HBO Max The Wolverine is a sequel of sorts to both X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X-Men: The Last Stand and takes place shortly after the latter film and deals with the fallout of the events it portrayed.
Deadpool (2016)Where to Watch: Watch for free with ads on Amazon Freevee, FX While he made his first appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds Wade Wilson/Deadpool makes his solo feature film debut in 2016’s Deadpool. This film is mostly separate from the happenings of the mainline films, but Deadpool is in the same universe so this would give you a complete picture of the franchise.
Deadpool 2 (2018)Where to Watch: Watch for free with ads on Amazon Freevee, FX Much like the original, Deadpool 2 doesn’t have an exact date it takes place and its events mostly happen outside of everything else going on in the X-Men franchise. That being said, this sequel does feature some returning, younger X-Men and a spoilery moment/reference for Logan, so it’s possibly set in the late 2020s.
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The New Mutants (2020)Where to Watch: HBO Max The New Mutants appears to take place sometime in the late 2020s as it features a connection to Logan, which is set in 2029.
Logan (2017)Where to Watch: Watch for free with ads on Amazon Freevee, FX As previously mentioned, Logan takes place in 2029 and follows Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier in a world where mutants are basically extinct.
Now, Gathegi is philosophical about his history with the X-Men, saying “I’ve moved well beyond that.”
“... when I didn’t come back for X-Men: Apocalypse, I just knew it was done,” he explained. “So I didn’t really look back, to be honest with you. I speak about it when people bring it up, but I made peace with this years ago.”
Fast-forward 14 years and Gathegi looks set for a long-term, high-profile role in James Gunn’s rebooted DC Universe. After wowing critics and audiences as Mister Terrific in Superman (which got off to a big start at the box office), James Gunn is reportedly considering a Mister Terrific spinoff TV series. The expectation is that we will see more of this character, especially after that post credits scene.
Edi Gathegi plays Mister Terrific in Superman.For Gathegi, his experience with Superman couldn’t be more different than X-Men: First Class.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R35e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R55e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe“The pendulum has swung in the complete opposite direction,” he said. “With X-Men: First Class, the message that I received as an actor and as a man of color in this world is you can be the most powerful mutant in the world and they’ll never let you reach your full potential. Whereas with Mister Terrific in Superman, the message that I’m receiving is you can be one of the most intelligent characters in the universe, and you can make a difference. You can help save the world. It’s a different level of conversation.”
Check out IGN’sSuperman reviewto find out what we think, and then head over to ourSuperman Ending and Post-Credits Explainedto find out what it all means.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley [email protected] confidentially [email protected].
