It’s official as Cobra Kai star Xolo Mariduena has been cast as DC’s Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, in a movie coming to the HBO Max streaming service.
The 20-year-old Latino actor confirmed the news on Instagram.
“It’s official…I am beyond grateful to be able to fill in these enormous shoes as one of the first Latino Superhero on the big screen,” said Mariduena. “To the team at DC and on blue beetle, Ángel, Walter, Gareth, Galen, Zev, John…Thank you so much for trusting me with this role, we’re about to make a kickass movie. Also huge congrats to Leslie on getting cast as Batgirl, LETS GO OUT AND SUPPORT THESE MOVIES. THIS MOVIE IS GONNA BE FOR THE WORLD. I’M A F-CKING SUPERHERO WHAT THE HECK.”
Xolo Mariduena confirms Blue Beetle:
Blue Beetle inspired by Akira, Drive, and Pacific Rim
Angel Manuel Sot is directing the HBO Max Blue Beetle movie and previously said the film will be inspired by the likes of Akira, Drive, and Pacific Rim and added the flick will focus on Jaime Reyes’ family and that the movie opens the world for other Latino characters to come and representation.
The casting of Latino Xolo Mariduena joins Supergirl Sasha Calle, Batgirl Leslie Grace, and Rachel Zegler in Shazam: Fury of the Gods in the DC films universe.
Blue Beetle has no release date as of yet.
DC Comics describes Blue Beetle Jamie Reyes as:
The inheritor of a proud legacy of crimefighting, Jaime Reyes is the third individual to bear the name Blue Beetle.
Over the course of a century, three different men from very different backgrounds have taken on the heroic mantle of the Blue Beetle, each making their mark in different ways. The original Beetle was an archaeologist named Dan Garrett, who discovered an ancient Scarab in an old Egyptian tomb that gave him superpowers which he used to fight crime. He was succeeded by the brilliant Ted Kord, who had no powers to speak of, but carried on the Blue Beetle legacy with just his wits and his fists, along with a whole lot of gadgets and a sharp sense of humor.
The most recent Blue Beetle is Jaime Reyes, a teenager from El Paso, Texas who bonded with Dan Garrett’s Scarab. The artifact gave him incredible alien armor which he used to defend his hometown from all manner of metahuman criminals. A Blue Beetle has been a part of the superhero community in the DC Universe in some form since 1939, serving both as a solo adventurer and as a part of teams like the Justice League and the Teen Titans, creating one of the greatest heroic legacies in the DCU.
