Edi Gathegi Reveals He Was Told Darwin Would Return After X-Men: First Class Amid Concerns Over Character’s Death: “Killing the Black Guy First Is So Played Out”

Edi Gathegi is finally having a well-deserved superhero moment in James Gunn’s Superman, but it comes with some reflection on how things started. Long before he suited up as Mister Terrific in the new DC movie, Gathegi played Darwin in X-Men: First Class. And back then, he was promised something that never happened.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gathegi opened up about his role in First Class and how it ended much earlier than he expected. Darwin, his character, had the power to adapt to survive, basically, he couldn’t die. Yet, halfway through the movie, he does.

Back in 2009, when he first read the script, Gathegi had serious concerns.

“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,’” he recalled. “Killing the Black guy first is so played out. I can’t do this.”

The producers tried to calm those concerns. They told him the death was important to push the story forward and that Darwin would return in future movies, just like in the comics. That promise gave him hope.

“They also fully intended to bring my character back as they do in the comics. [Darwin] can’t die; he regenerates,” Gathegi said. “So we held onto the hope that they would honor their word. When I didn’t come back for X-Men: Apocalypse, I just knew it was done.”

That moment stuck with him. Even though he had a good time filming the movie with the cast in London, the way his character was handled felt like a missed opportunity. He didn’t dwell on it much, but the lack of follow-through was disappointing.

Years later, things took a turn in the opposite direction. In 2023, Gathegi’s agents asked him to audition for the role of Mister Terrific in Superman. At first, he wasn’t sure he wanted to do it. He had just landed a role alongside Robert De Niro in the Netflix series Zero Day and was about to leave for a vacation in Europe.

But then he found out that James Gunn, the director and DC Studios co-head, was personally waiting on his audition tape. That changed everything.

“I was like, ‘Okay, this tracks because I met him on the Suicide Squad red carpet and he likes my work. If he’s actually waiting for my tape, that means this director is actually going to watch it,’” Gathegi said.

He sent in the tape the day before his flight. While sitting in an Uber on his way to LAX, he checked his phone and saw a DM from Gunn.

“Yo, you killed this audition,” the message read.

That led to a screen test, and ultimately, Gathegi landed the role. He even had to leave Zero Day because the schedules clashed after the strikes caused delays. It was a tough call, especially since working with De Niro was a big deal for him, but the chance to join the DC universe won out.

“My decision came down to what had the potential for a longer life, and a new DC character in a rebooted universe felt like the right choice,” he said.

Now, as Mister Terrific, Gathegi’s performance is being called one of the best parts of Superman. And for him, that means a lot, especially compared to how things went down in X-Men.

“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,” he explained. “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 help save the world. It’s a different level of conversation.”

Gathegi didn’t expect his superhero journey to come full circle like this, but it did. And it started with a promise that was never kept, and a role that, years later, finally lets him shine.

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