A Blue Beetle movie is coming from Warner Bros., and DC, with Angel Manuel Soto (Charm City Kings), set to direct. The film will be DC’s first starring a Latinx superhero. Blue Beetle adds to the extensive docket of coming DC films and series from Warner, including James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, Matt Reeves’s The Batman, and sequels to Aquaman and Shazam!
Fox Comics created the Blue Beetle character in 1939. Different versions of the character appeared in Fox and Charlton Comics series until DC acquired the character in the early ‘80s. Since 2006, the Blue Beetle mantle has been worn by Jaime Reyes, a Mexican-American teenager from El Paso, Texas, who fights crime and evil with a suit of ancient alien battle armor. He played a minor role in the live-action DC series Smallville.
Now, the Jaime Reyes version of Blue Beetle is getting his own standalone film. According to a report from The Wrap, DC and Warner Bros. have hired Angel Manuel Soto to direct the movie. Gareth Dunnet Alcocer will write the script. “It is an honor to direct Blue Beetle, the first Latino superhero film for DC,” Soto said in a statement. “I want to sincerely thank everyone at Warner Bros. and DC for trusting me to bring Jaime Reyes to life. I can’t wait to make history together.”
It’s unclear at this point what role Blue Beetle will play in the broader DCEU. The franchise has become far less centralized in recent years, with films like Joker, Shazam! and the upcoming The Batman all taking place either in alternate realities or just outside the core story of the Justice League movies. Aquaman 2 and The Flash are still on the way. Still, the cancellation of more major crossover films and DC’s increased focus on HBO Max streaming content means DC films will likely continue to operate independently from each other in many cases.
In some ways, that could be for the best for Blue Beetle. Assembling a Latinx writing/directing duo is a start in the right direction for Warner, and it should be interesting to see how the project takes shape. No release date or other details have been released, as the film is still in very early development. Fans will likely have to wait patiently before any more news on the Blue Beetle film is revealed, but there’s already plenty of reason to get excited.
Source: The Wrap
