Blue Beetle: Director Calls Xolo Maridueña Returning to DC Role “A Beautiful Thing”

Blue Beetle made its debut in theaters earlier this year — and we know now that its mythos is here to stay. It has already been confirmed that Xolo Maridueña’s portrayal of Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle will be carried over into the new “reset” DC universe led by DC Studios’ James Gunn and Peter Safran. Although we do not yet know what that looks like, Blue Beetle director Angel Manuel Soto is speaking out about the possibilities. In a recent interview with ComicBook.com, Soto revealed that he is excited about the onscreen future of Jaime’s Blue Beetle, because it adds more weight to the solo film.

“It was very reassuring to know that it’s not just the character of Blue Beetle, it’s Xolo being Blue Beetle,” Soto explained in our interview, which you can check out above. “Which means that what we have learned up to this point about his background and his family are part of Jaime Reyes’ character. And that is a beautiful thing to see because it’s a vote of confidence that what we did, the impact that it did and how it was shown, Whatever they end up doing in the bigger scheme of the DCU, you can always go back to Blue Beetle to know what are the foundations of Jaime Reyes.”

When Will Blue Beetle Return to the DCU?

In a recent appearance on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast, Gunn referred to Jaime as the “first hero” in the new DC Universe, possibly hinting that Maridueña will reprise his role in future projects. With a Booster Gold Max-exclusive series confirmed to be in the works, and both Jaime and his predecessor Ted Kord having ties to the time-traveling heroes, we’ll have to see if that ends up being a contender.

“I mean the first DCU character for sure is Blue Beetle and the first DCU movie is Superman,” Gunn said at the time.

What Is Blue Beetle About?

From Warner Bros. Pictures comes Blue Beetle, which arrived 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.