Blue Beetle Director Originally Wanted to Pitch Batman Villain Spinoff

Before he came to direct Blue Beetle, filmmaker Angel Manuel Soto had a different pitch for Warner Bros. and DC: he wanted to explore the origin of Bane, a character of Latino heritage in the comics, and one who was entirely shaped by the dire circumstances he was born into. Previously played on the big screen by bodybuilder Robert Swenson in Batman & Robin, then Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises, the Bane of the comics was born in Santa Prisca, a Central American nation where his mother was in prison, where he was born and grew up. While his heritage was not a big part of the “KnightFall” story that introduced him, it became key to Bane’s identity soon after.

Instead, Warner pitched Soto on Blue Beetle, a movie featuring a young Hispanic teen and defined by the relationship between its lead and his non-powered supporting cast — something few superhero comics have anymore.

“I wanted to pitch ideas, and one of them was the Bane origin story,” Soto told Den of Geek in their latest print issue. “I always thought that there was something interesting in exploring his reality and how a character like that comes to be.” He quickly found out, though, that “the conversation was not about that.”  

From Warner Bros. Pictures comes Blue Beetle, which arrives in theaters on August 18th, marking the DC superhero’s first time on the big screen. The film, directed by Angel Manuel Soto, stars Xolo Maridueña in the title role as well as his alter ego, Jaime Reyes. Recent college grad Jaime Reyes returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Super Hero BLUE BEETLE.

Starring alongside Maridueña are Adriana Barraza, Damían Alcázar, Elpidia Carrillo, Bruna Marquezine, Raoul Max Trujillo, with Oscar winner Susan Sarandon, and George Lopez (the “Rio and “Smurf” franchises). The film also stars Belissa Escobedo and Harvey Guillén. Soto directs from a screenplay by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, based on characters from DC. John Rickard and Zev Foreman are producing, with Walter Hamada, Galen Vaisman and Garrett Grant serving as executive producers.