Marvel actor Eka Darville loses his 10-year-old son

Actor Eka Darville's son, Mana, lost his life after a tough battle with brain cancer.

Image: @lets.go.mana / Instagram

The boy, the eldest son of the 'Defenders' actor (image) and Lila Darville, was diagnosed with the illness a year and three months ago.

Malaika Darville, the boy's grandmother, paid tribute to him on Instagram. She spoke of how lucky she was to have loved him. "I never in a million years thought that my grandson would become my ancestor before I became his," she added.

Image: @malaika.darville / Instagram

Eka described his son as a sea lover, dancer, surfer, musician, free spirit, and an older brother who always looked after his two younger brothers.

Photo: @lets.go.mana / Instagram

The 34-year-old actor, known for playing Malcolm in the Marvel series 'Jessica Jones' and the Red Power Ranger in 'Power Rangers RPM' temporarily abandoned his career when his son suffered a seizure in 2022. The event paralyzed the right side of the child's body.

At first, doctors said that Eka's son had a brain abnormality, apparently present since birth. They assumed it was a form of epilepsy. However, even though the boy was treated, the seizures continued daily.

In January 2023, doctors noticed two large masses, spread throughout the boy's brain, through an MRI. One was the size of a peach and the other the size of a walnut.

Photo: @lets.go.mana / Instagarm

Mana had to undergo emergency surgery, which was successful, as it reduced the size of one of the tumors and gave him more time to spend with his family. However, the procedure could only remove 60% of one of the tumors.

After analyzing the tumor tissue, doctors identified an aggressive glioneuronal brain cancer, unique in its kind. They were unable to offer Mana any further treatment.

Photo: @lets.go.mana / Instagram

In March 2023, Eka and his wife decided to look for a cure for their son. However, as the treatment they wanted to try involved new technology, their health plan did not cover it. At that point, the couple asked for donations through social media.

Photo: @lets.go.mana / Instagram

"His diagnosis is extremely rare, very aggressive and already metastasized, but Mana, literally means ‘supernatural power’ & he IS going to overcome this," Eka wrote. "But he can’t do it alone. Help us move mountains to keep this magical little boy with us!"

According to Hola! magazine, Eka and his wife left Australia for the United States, looking for the best possible treatment for their son.

Photo: @lets.go.mana / Instagram

As they shared on the 'Let's Go Mana' website, through which the family raised more than 650 thousand dollars in donations, the boy had undergone three difficult operations and countless therapies.

However, in an October 18, 2023 checkup, doctors noted that one of the tumors had returned and “was growing faster than ever.”

His family did everything to give the boy all the love they could in the last month of his life.

"You can imagine the amount of sadness and pain for Eka, Lila, Lila's parents, her grandparents, myself, her little brothers..." Mana’s grandmother said in an Instagram video. "But, at the same time, there is a lot of joy. There is a lot of peace. There is a lot of tranquility in the house after such a long fight for 463 days since the whole ordeal began."

Photo: @malaika.darville / Instagram

"Now he is free. Now he dances in the light. We all see it, we feel it and I know that many of you, like me, loved Mana eternally," the grandmother continued. In the meantime, thousands of followers have expressed their condolences to the family on social media.