{"id":11431,"date":"2025-07-15T10:43:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T10:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/11431\/"},"modified":"2025-07-15T10:43:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T10:43:03","slug":"edi-gathegi-on-mister-terrific-credits-scene-x-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/11431\/","title":{"rendered":"Edi Gathegi on Mister Terrific, Credits Scene, X-Men"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot developments in \u201cSuperman<\/a>,\u201d currently playing in theaters.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe first time Edi Gathegi<\/a> (\u201cTwilight,\u201d \u201cFor All Mankind\u201d) learned about Mister Terrific, it was from James Gunn\u2019s social media feed. When Gunn was named the co-chief of DC Studios in 2023, one of his first public actions was to post a picture of the lesser known DC comics character (whose civilian name is Michael Holt), which spurred the internet to begin speculating on which actor could play the role.<\/p>\n

\n\tOne of the first suggestions was Gathegi. \u201cSo my thought was, \u2018Let me look him up,\u2019\u201d Gathegi recalls. He really liked what he saw.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFourteen PhDs, polyglot, polymath, auto-didactic, natural aptitude for natural aptitudes, Olympic athlete \u2014 all of these characteristics,\u201d he says, his face lighting up listing just how, well, terrific the character really is. \u201cBut then there\u2019s a big wound. He lost his wife, was on the verge of suicide, is visited by The Spectre, who educates him on the previous Mister Terrific, Terry Sloan, and he takes up the mantle himself. I thought, this is a character who\u2019s equal parts d\u2019Artagnan and Sherlock Holmes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe next day, however, the fan-casting began to focus on \u201cthe usual suspects,\u201d Gathegi says. \u201cJohn Boyega, Daniel Kaluuya, Michael B. Jordan. I just let it go and forgot about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGathegi had been down the superhero road before: In 2011\u2019s \u201cX-Men: First Class<\/a>,\u201d he played Darwin, a mutant with the ability to transform his body into anything it needed to survive its environment or circumstances. And yet, the filmmakers still managed to kill off the character \u2014 the only man of color of significance in the film \u2014\u00a0before he\u2019d had a chance to do anything of importance.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo when Gunn finally did cast Gathegi as Mister Terrific, the actor was delighted to realize that this time, the superhero he\u2019d be playing was second only in importance to the Man of Steel himself. Terrific first shows up in \u201cSuperman\u201d as part of the Justice Gang, a team also consisting of Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), a Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced). But once Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) locks Superman (David Corenswet) away in a secret prison in a pocket universe, Terrific decides to help Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) find Superman. Terrific even gets his own showcase action sequence, in which the super-genius uses his high-tech T-Spheres to take out a legion of Lex\u2019s goons on a beach as Lois watches on in shock and amazement.<\/p>\n

\n\tTerrific even appears alongside Superman in the film\u2019s end credits scene<\/a>, which Gathegi only learned about on the night of the film\u2019s premiere. In an interview with Variety, he discussed why that scene in particular was so meaningful to him, as well as his initial feelings about Terrific\u2019s unusual T-shaped mask, the training process for that big fight scene, and what he knows about the character\u2019s future in the new DC Universe.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat was your familiarity with Mister Terrific before you got cast in this role? I confess he wasn\u2019t big on my radar.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, hopefully we\u2019re going to change that for a lot of people. Like you, I wasn\u2019t aware of Mister Terrific. The first time he got on my radar was when James took over DC as the head of studio, and the very first picture that he posted on social media was a picture of Mister Terrific. I ran into James at \u201cThe Suicide Squad\u201d premiere, and he pulled me to the side on the red carpet and told me what a big fan of mine he was. I left that premiere levitating like, Oh my God, will I work with James Gunn one day?<\/p>\n

\n\tSo when he took over the job at DC and posted that picture, my thought was, \u201cMaybe it\u2019s that guy. Let me look him up.\u201d There was a fan-cast that happened that same day, and the first person to post something, their fan cast was me. The next day, it was all the usual suspects: John Boyega, Daniel Kaluuya, Michael B. Jordan. I just let it go and I forgot about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen I made the [audition] tape, I didn\u2019t even know that it was for Mister Terrific. I thought it was for Lex Luthor, because the character was named \u201cApex Lex.\u201d In my research, I discovered that Lex has this mechanized suit \u2014 maybe this is a play on the super-powered Lex Luthor, and James has a different take. But I was actually auditioning for Mister Terrific.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhen you were researching the character, what most struck you about him?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tJust how magnificent of a character he is, because of his intelligence. Mister Terrific does want to fight crime, but he\u2019s actually trying to change the entire world in tangible ways. He\u2019s the highest concept character that I\u2019ve read. We could do street level stuff, but then we could do world-saving, cosmic, galactic stuff.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDC Studios<\/p>\n

\t\tTalk to me about your mask. Did it go through many iterations before you settled on the way that it ended up being on your face?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t think that there was too many iterations. The template is there from the comics, so we were only ever in that space. We might have gone through a couple of iterations, just for comfortability. But in terms of design, I think they kind of had a firm idea of what they wanted from the beginning. The material that they used was molded to my face and also very pliable, so it didn\u2019t get in the way of facial expressions. It was also two pieces \u2014 the top of the T came down to my top lip, and the second piece was for the chin.<\/p>\n

\t\tHow long did it take to put on?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tLike an hour, hour and a half.<\/p>\n

\t\tWas it tricky to eat in it at all?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, we had to do touch ups after lunch because the because the lips were painted as well. The way that they designed it, I was always aware that I was wearing it, but it never felt like it was getting in the way.<\/p>\n

\t\tIt\u2019s just such a unique look that I\u2019ve never seen in a superhero movie, so I\u2019m fascinated by how it might have affected your performance.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI had a lot of questions when I first saw the mask in the in the comic books. I didn\u2019t really get the design, to be honest with you, and it wasn\u2019t until I started exploring the character more, that I understood the functionality of the mask, but also that the mask was cool because Mister Terrific was wearing it. He\u2019s the third smartest man in the universe. Everything that that guy does, including wearing a whimsical jacket with \u201cFairplay\u201d on the sleeve, is going to be cool.<\/p>\n

\t\tThe final film doesn\u2019t provide any sense of Mister Terrific\u2019s tragic backstory, and how enormously informative it is for his character. Was there more that you shot that didn\u2019t end up making it into the film?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tNo. This is the beginning of the new DC Universe, and the focal point is Superman. There wasn\u2019t a lot of room to delve into Mister Terrific\u2019s backstory. If we\u2019re lucky, we\u2019re going to have a lot more opportunities to to dig into what Mister Terrific is and who he is. I feel like we\u2019ve only scratched the surface.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tYou\u2019ve said you\u2019re signed up for more projects. Do you know what they are?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI know that I have a multi-project deal, but the specifics of that are unknown to me. What James is driving home is the idea that they\u2019re never going to rush into production with scripts that aren\u2019t ready, so even whatever they do have planned for my characters is irrelevant until the draft comes in and it\u2019s shootable. So I don\u2019t 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\u2019s hard work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tDo you know at least if you will join your Justice Gang compatriot Nathan Fillion in near year\u2019s HBO Max show, \u201cLanterns\u201d?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tOh, no, I can tell you that I\u2019m not.<\/p>\n

\t\tHow did you work out how Mister Terrific operates the T-Spheres?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI can get real heady about it. I tried to think of what I was trying to achieve, and since he has a telepathic connection with his T-Spheres, as well as a way to control them with hand signals. I just created a system by which I\u2019m commanding them to do x, y, z. So I just basically did my own internal choreography.<\/p>\n

\t\tFor Terrific\u2019s big fight scene on the beach, what was the process to decide what the spheres were doing, and where they were going? How much was led by you on the set versus what was in the script or what the visual effects team needed to accomplish?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI think the fight was written in the script as \u201cIt\u2019s a fight.\u201d James got together with Wayne [Dalglish] and Adam [Hart], the fight choreographers; they came up with the specifics of what the fight would entail, and then they taught that to me. It had to be precise. They were saying, \u201cThat guy\u2019s gonna get hit by a T-Sphere in this moment, that guy\u2019s gonna get hit by T-Sphere in this moment.\u201d And we created the moves to create that [on screen]. For everybody else who was getting hit by T-Spheres that I wasn\u2019t doing hand signals with, I justify that by the telepathic communication with the T-Spheres. I\u2019m thinking it, therefore they do.<\/p>\n

\t\tHow long did you take to rehearse that fight scene?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWe got in a couple of days a week for a couple of hours. It was constantly evolving, but we started very early. So I would say for somewhere between three and five months. And it evolved until we wrapped the scene. We were still improvising and creating new moves on the day, which turned out to be one of the most difficult things that I\u2019ve ever done as an actor. To keep all of those moves in your head and to then to get new moves in the middle of a heat wave on a beach wearing a full leather outfit \u2014\u00a0it was almost overwhelming. But I reminded myself that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I hit that choreography and then we wrapped.<\/p>\n

\t\tHow long did it take to shoot?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAbout two and a half days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tIt sounds like you were the one performing the choreography on camera?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah. Most of it was. I thank my stunt double for being amazing. He helped me in a pinch, because they created a new move on the day that I probably needed at least a week and a half to perfect. That\u2019s when I tagged my wrestling partner in.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWarner Bros. \/ Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

\t\tYou don\u2019t share many scenes, but what was it like to reunite with your \u201cX-Men: First Class\u201d star Nicholas Hoult in a very different kind of superhero movie playing very different roles?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI mean, the irony is not lost on me, that we get to have this experience in yet another CBM [i.e. comic book movie]. We had a great experience on on \u201cX-Men: First Class.\u201d We spent months together. We were training together. We didn\u2019t train together [on \u201cSuperman\u201d]. He\u2019s playing Lex, the apex predator of intelligence, so he wasn\u2019t in the gym with us. We\u2019ve stayed loosely in touch, and it was just really nice to reconnect with him on this. I think we\u2019re going to be seeing a lot more of each other.<\/p>\n

\t\tSo how did the post-credits scene come together?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThat was originally in the movie. I wasn\u2019t there for the decision making, but to me, it\u2019s exciting because that\u2019s a promise. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s 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 \u201cX-Men: First Class\u201d to be kind of the last man standing.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhen did you find out that it was the post credit scene?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThe day of the premiere. I got a text message from James saying, \u201cHeads up, just so you know, some things are different, and that scene is now the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tSo at least you wouldn\u2019t find out watching the movie itself.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat happened was, when the movie\u2019s done, my guests are getting up out of their seats, and I\u2019m like, \u201cSit down. I think there\u2019s an end-credit thing.\u201d And now they\u2019re whispering to everybody else, telling everybody to stay and they\u2019re like, \u201cAre you sure?\u201d Then I second guess myself, like, maybe I\u2019m having all these people stay here and there\u2019s nothing at the end. Then it happened, and I was blown away.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou mentioned training \u2014\u00a0did you work out alone for this movie?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tFor the physical training, I was alone for both the martial arts portion of it. But when we were lifting weights, Gabby [i.e. Mar\u00eda Gabriela de Far\u00eda] was in there all the time, so I would see her very frequently. David [Corenswet], when he was in town, he would pop in.<\/p>\n

\t\tThis seems like a silly question to ask an actor, because of course there\u2019s a difference between you and your characters, but what did it feel like to be lifting weights next to the guy playing Superman?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s the wild thing. I think people kind of understand now that the two are inextricably bound, David and Superman. He is Superman. You look at him and you go that\u2019s Superman. I\u2019m lifting weights with Superman. It\u2019s a surreal thing.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis interview has been edited and condensed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot developments in \u201cSuperman,\u201d currently playing in theaters. The first time Edi…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11432,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[3752,88,209,3753],"class_list":["post-11431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-edi-gathegi","tag-entertainment","tag-superman","tag-x-men-first-class"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}