Superman star Edi Gathegi, who plays genius inventor Mr. Terrific, has signed onto multiple projects in James Gunn's DCU, and reveals that his Superman post-credits scene was originally in the movie.
"I know that I have a multi-project deal, but the specifics of that are unknown to me," Gathegi said in a new interview with Variety. "What James is driving home is the idea that they’re never going to rush into production with scripts that aren’t ready, so even whatever they do have planned for my characters is irrelevant until the draft comes in and it’s shootable. So I don’t count my chickens before they hatch. I want to be involved in this universe in a major way, and whether or not that comes to fruition is just a matter of time and faith and other people’s hard work."
A member of the Justice Gang alongside Green Lantern and Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific comes into his own in the movie when he agrees to help Lois Lane rescue Superman from Lex Luthor's pocket universe. But he also appears in the Superman post-credits scene, which sees him and the Man of Steel helping to rebuild Metropolis after the devastation caused by Lex's dimensional rift. "That was originally in the movie," Gathegi revealed.
"I wasn’t there for the decision making, but to me, it’s exciting because that’s a promise. I don’t know if it’s a promise that DC is intending to make, but to have that moment at the very end of the movie, for me personally, is the full circle moment of me being unceremoniously killed before the big battle in X-Men: First Class to be kind of the last man standing."
Superman isn't Gathegi's first comic book rodeo, you see. In 2011's X-Men: First Class, he played Darwin, a mutant capable of reactive evolution, which enables him to evolve and adapt to any environment. However, the character met an untimely end that wasn't faithful to the comic source material. "I think it is just a case of bad representation and missed opportunity," the actor previously said of the experience.
Superman is out now in theaters. For more on the movie, get up to speed with our guide to the Superman ending explained, or check out our verdict in our Superman review.
