Xolo Maridueña In Talks To Lead DC's 'Blue Beetle'

The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Cobra Kai's Xolo Maridueña is in negotiations for the lead role in Blue Beetle for HBO Max and Warner Bros.

Angel Manuel Soto will be helming DC’s first film to center on a Latino superhero from a script by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer.

Multiple iterations of Blue Beetle have existed in the comics, with the film focusing on Jaime Reyes, an El Paso teen who uses alien armor granted by a strange artifact to defend his hometown. Reyes first debuted in the comics in 2006 from creators Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner.

Blue Beetle first appeared as a Fox Comics character in 1939 from creator Charles Wojtkowski. The character went through different companies before landing back at DC in the 1980s.

The Blue Beetle project will focus on the most recent version of Blue Beetle introduced in 2006 by a Mexican-American teenager named Jaime Reyes. His powers come from a mysterious scarab that binds to Reyes’ spine and provides him with a powerful suit of blue alien armor that can also equip him with bespoke weapons and wings.

Soto is credited with directing “La Granja” (“The Farm”), “Charm City Kings” and “12 O’Clock Boys.” Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer wrote “Miss Bala” and an earlier draft of Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming remake of “Scarface."

The Blue Beetle film is looking to start production in early 2022. John Rickard is producing for HBO Max. Zev Foreman is executive producing.