Before landing his role as Mister Terrific in the upcoming Superman movie, Twilight vet Edi Gathegi first portrayed the Marvel role of Darwin in 2011’s X-Men: First Class. His character was introduced as a mutant with the ability to evolve and adapt to any environment.
In the movie, Darwin was one of the mutants that Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) recruited to their team. However, the character didn’t have a chance to see much action as he was killed by Hellfire Club leader Sebastian Shaw. Fans of the character weren’t happy with how Darwin was adapted since they believe his powers should have allowed him to survive Shaw’s attack, just like in the comics.
What did Edi Gathegi say about X-Men: First Class?
During a recent interview with EW, Gathegi opened up about the fans’ reactions to Darwin’s sudden death in X-Men: First Class, revealing that he agrees with them. He admitted that he initially thought that the studio would somehow bring him back.
“They’re not wrong,” Gathegi said. “I think it is just a case of bad representation and missed opportunity. There was a lot that they could have done with that character, probably should have done with the character. I was waiting to be brought back [after First Class] because, as you know, the character doesn’t die. The fact that he died in the first one isn’t that big of a deal if he does what he does in the comics, which is come back. Every movie that came out and the character didn’t come back, it solidified that it was a misrepresentation and a missed opportunity.”
With the upcoming Superman movie, Gathegi expressed his confidence that he won’t have the same experience as his superhero role since he knows that DC Studios already has plans in store for his character. “This job is kind of undoing the wrongs of Darwin. I know that as it stands right now, this isn’t the only project that I’ll be in.”
Superman is written and directed by Gunn, based on the DC characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The ensemble cast includes David Corenswet as Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, María Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teshmacher, Anthony Carrigan as Metarmorpho, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., Edi Gathegi, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, Pruitt Taylor Vince as Jonathan Kent, and Neva Howell as Martha Kent, along with Alan Tudyk, Michael Rooker, and Grace Chan.
Originally reported by Maggie Dela Paz on SuperHeroHype.