The fate of Blue Beetle is a little up in the air given DC’s transition from one cinematic universe to another, but star Xolo Maridueña is ready to play the character for a long time.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Maridueña said he was blown away by the authentic Latin American feeling of Blue Beetle and is ready to commit to the role for another 12 years.
“This is a Latino character, and I was curious how far we were going to lean into it, what elements we were going to show,” Maridueña said. “How were we going to deliver on that big ask? Honestly, I was just jaw-droppingly blown away.
“The family felt natural, even though it wasn’t my own family. I could understand every one of the characters and feel that familial love. I was really surprised at how well they were able to capture that. And then, bringing it onto the screen was ten times better because you’ve got f**king George Lopez and Adriana Barraza and Belissa Escobedo, so it was just the most fun filming. I want to do 12 more years of Blue Beetle.”
The film, which premieres on August 18, is a little trapped between the end of the DCEU and the beginning of the DCU, which officially kicks off in 2025 with James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy.
DC used The Flash as a canonical moving on point from the DC Extended Universe — which began with Snyder’s Man of Steel and was set to end with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom — but now at least Blue Beetle is confirmed to be making the leap to the DCU.
Gunn described the character as the “first DCU character” and Maridueña has also teased several DC cameos for the film, but since the likes of Superman and the rest of the new DCU weren’t cast during filming, it’s been a bit confusing for fans trying to understand the universe split.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.