After numerous false starts, the Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle is finally going to make his way to the screen again, in a new movie directed by Angel Manuel Soto. The character made his live-action debut on Smallville, in an episode that centered around Booster Gold. Those two characters are frequently found together, and most of the movie and TV rumors have have hovered around the character of Blue Beetle have also included Booster, although it is not yet clear whether that will be the case here. In many of his appearances, Jaime can be found palling around with a version of Peacemaker, a character who is set to appear in The Suicide Squad and then carry on to his own HBO Max series.
Videos by ComicBook.com
TheWrap, who broke the news, report that the film will be written by Scarface remake writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer and directed by Charm City Kings‘s Angel Manuel Soto. The movie will mark the first major outing for a live-action Latino superhero, and the first time that a primarily-Latino crew has helmed one. Previous Latino characters to appear in DC films were relegated to supporting roles in team movies.
Created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers (Leverage), and Cully Hamner, the Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle debuted in 2006 as part of the Infinite Crisis storyline. He took over the role left vacant following the death of Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle. While the original Blue Beetle — Charlton’s Dan Garrett — was a superhuman powered by a magical scarab, Ted was never able to harness the power of the scarab and instead relied on his own training and scientific know-how. For Jaime, the scarab did work — but it turned out to be, basically, an advance scout from a malevolent alien armada preparing to invade Earth.
Jaime drew instant comparisons to Spider-Man, as a young hero uncertain of his powers or his place in the world, and who had a sense of humor and fun about him and a lovable supporting cast. He has periodically appeared in Teen Titans comics as well. In the DC Rebirth timeline, Jaime was mentored by Ted Kord, who was back from the dead but no longer physically able to go climb on buildings and fight bad guys.
In Smallville, Jaime was played by Jaren Brandt Bartlett. The episode “Booster” served as a potential backdoor pilot for a series that would center on Jaime, but it never got off the ground. In the episode, Booster Gold is a time-traveling superhero who draws the scorn of Superman and Lois Lane by profiting off of his heroics. Jaime finds the scarab, and Booster and Clark have to work together to help keep him safe from villains who want it.
There have been rumors for years that, alternately, a Booster Gold movie (with Blue Beetle) was in the works, a Blue Beetle movie (with Booster Gold) was in the works, or a Blue & Gold buddy comedy was in the works. None of them have ultimately yielded a greenlight from Warner Bros. before now, althuogh X-Men: First Class screenwriter Zack Stentz still lists the Booster Gold movie in his Twitter bio, which may suggest it isn’t dead yet.
In the interim, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold have both appeared in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Justice League Action — sometimes as a duo, sometimes not.
