It has been in the works for at least a couple of years, and Warner Bros.' planned DC movie based on the Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle character has now taken a jump forward. Charm City Kings director Angel Manuel Soto is calling the shots for the companies' first lead Latino superhero movie.
Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer has written the script for the film, which will adapt the more recent version of the character. Originally created by artist Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski and writer Will Eisner for Fox Comics' Mystery Men Comics in 1939, Blue Beetle was introduced as Dan Garret, a vigilante who fought crime using powers gained from chemical compound Vitamin 2-X, though that origin was later retconned to an archeologist with a suit and abilities derived from the alien Khaji Da scarab living weapon. He was succeeded by tech whizz Ted Kord, first appearing in Charlton Comics (which bought Fox and was itself later taken over by DC).
The Jaime Reyes version, a creation of Keith Giffen, John Rogers and Cully Hamner for 2006's Infinite Crisis Issue 5, spawned a titular title two months later in May of that year. In his story, Reyes discovered the Blue Beetle scarab on the way home from school with two of his best friends Paco and Brenda, half-buried in a disused lot. Reyes took the scarab home, curious as to what it might be. That night, the scarab came alive, and grafted itself to the base of Jaime’s spine, and provided him with a suit of extraterrestrial armour, which can be modified to enhance his speed and strength, as well as to create weapons, wings and shields.
"It is an honor to direct Blue Beetle, the first Latino superhero film for DC," Soto tells The Wrap. "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." The plan is for the cameras to start cranking in the autumn.