The scene-stealing star of Superman has revealed that they initially thought they were auditioning for a major DC Universe villain. Superman‘s ending saw a bunch of DC heroes and villains introduced to the franchise. The actor for one such hero, who appeared in Superman​​​​​​’s post-credit scene, ᴀssumed they were on the other side of the moral line.

Edi Gathegi, who played Mister Terrific in Superman, revealed to Variety that he thought a major DC villain was on the cards for him at first. Gathegi revealed that, during the audition process for Superman, his scripts said “Apex Lex.” Gathegi looked into this, revealing:

“I discovered that Lex has this mechanized suit — 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.”

After seeing Superman, it is certainly a relief that Gathegi was reading for the role of Mister Terrific. The character turned out to be a scene-stealer and one of the highlights of an already great movie, primarily driven by Gathegi’s excellent performance.

What Edi Gathegi’s Comments Mean For The DC Universe

The DCU’s Casting Process Is Fairly Secretive

Interestingly, Gathegi’s comments mean that the DCU has a somewhat secretive casting process. This news comes only a few days after Skylar Gisondo, who plays Jimmy Olsen in Superman‘s cast, revealed that he thought he was auditioning for the Man of Steel himself. Just like Gisondo, Gathegi got a different role than what he was expecting.

Also, as has been commonly pointed out during Superman‘s press tour, Nicholas Hoult originally auditioned for Superman before being cast as Lex Luthor. Clearly, the DC Universe is not hesitant to take actors gunning for one role and use them for another. Beyond that, the franchise’s secrecy has caused some hilarious mix-ups in casting.

Our Take On Edi Gathegi’s DCU Audition Comments

After hearing Gathegi’s comments, I am glad that the audition process worked out the way it did. Although Gathegi playing a version of Lex Luthor would have been exciting, he was too great as Mister Terrific to imagine him playing anyone else. Also, this whole mix-up makes the battle of brains between Terrific and Luthor in Superman even better.

The casting call reading as “Apex Lex” seems to have been a clever inside joke on James Gunn’s part. After all, Terrific and Lex do have somewhat of a rivalry in Superman, with the former thinking the latter is foolish with his intelligence. The name “Apex Lex” reflects this, and I am incredibly thankful Gathegi ended up with that part due to his scene-stealing turn in Superman.