The long-awaited adaptation of Blue Beetle has finally found its director for the first Latinx superhero.
According to an exclusive from The Wrap, they confirmed that Warner Bros and DC films have hired the Puerto Rican director, Angel Manuel Soto (Charm City Kings) to direct the upcoming film. The film is schedule to start development this fall with the screenplay being written by Mexican-born Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer who is also working on Universal’s Scarface remake.
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In the comics, the Blue Beetle is a superhero alter ego used by three different heroes. The movie will be following the story of Jaime Reyes, a Mexican-American teenager who is the third person to take the mantle of the Blue Beetle.
Soto Takes On Blue Beetle
Soto expresses his excitement to direct the Blue Beetle film as he will be making history in bringing the first Latinx superhero to the big screen.
“It is an honor to direct Blue Beetle, the first Latino superhero film for DC,” said Soto in a statement to TheWrap. “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.”
Jamie Reyes was first introduced during the miniseries “Infinite Crisis,” created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner back in 2006. Reyes comes from a working-class family living in El Paso, he has no connections to any DC superheroes prior to gaining his powers. He finds an alien artifact called the Scarab when walking home from school with is two best friends Paco and Brenda. Later that same night, the scarab came to life and implanted itself onto the base of Jamie’s spine while he sleeps. As a result, he gains a suit f extraterrestrial armor that enhance his speed and strength.
Ever since his introduction in the comics, Jaime Reyes have become a fan favorite in his own retrospect. It’s worth noting that the character has made appearances on television through Smallville and in the animated series, Young Justice. DC is no strangers to bringing Latino talent to their films as they recently casted Sasha Calle to play Supergirl in the upcoming Flash film. The studio has found more success in their standalone DC films when they are driven by the filmmaker.
At this time, there are no updates on casting news for the film but with Soto and Dunnet-Alcocer working together we can start speculating on what they’ll bring to the film. The Blue Beetle is set to be another milestone for the first stand-alone Latinx lead in a live-action superhero film.
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Source: The Wrap
