Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle survived both a box-office disaster and the collapse of the DCEU. Now, Jaime Reyes is officially joining James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe.
Maridueña is set to reprise the role in “Man of Tomorrow,” Gunn’s currently filming follow-up to “Superman.” According to The Wrap (first reported by DanielRPK), the film will serve as Blue Beetle’s formal reintroduction into the DCU.
Gunn had already identified Jaime as the first character connected to his new continuity, even though the hero’s solo movie was developed and released under the previous DC regime.
“I mean the first DCU character, for sure, is Blue Beetle, and the first full DCU movie is Superman,” Gunn previously explained.
Released by Warner Bros. in August 2023, “Blue Beetle” starred Maridueña as Jaime, a recent college graduate who becomes bonded to an ancient alien scarab that transforms him into a powerful, armored superhero. Angel Manuel Soto (“Charm City Kings,” “The Wrecking Crew”) directed the film.
Despite generally positive reviews and strong turnout from Latino audiences, “Blue Beetle” was a major commercial disappointment. It opened to just $25 million domestically, finished with only $72.5 million in North America, and earned $130.8 million worldwide. That made it the lowest-grossing installment in the now-defunct DCEU globally.
Its domestic performance was especially weak for a wide-release superhero movie carrying a reported production budget of approximately $120 million. The film later found a larger audience on Max, but its theatrical failure left Maridueña’s future uncertain while Gunn and Safran dismantled most of the existing franchise.
Jaime had one advantage over many of the DCEU’s other heroes: his movie was largely self-contained. “Blue Beetle” arrived without major ties to Zack Snyder’s Justice League characters or the continuity that Gunn was preparing to replace, making it easier to preserve Maridueña while reshaping the world around him.
“Man of Tomorrow” marks the actor’s first live-action appearance in the new DCU. Gunn writes and directs the film, with David Corenswet returning as Superman and Nicholas Hoult reprising his role as Lex Luthor. The project is currently in production and opens theatrically on July 9, 2027.
It remains unclear how much of Jaime’s original story will remain intact. Gunn could preserve the broad strokes of the 2023 movie, quietly revise selected details, or introduce a new version of the character’s history while retaining Maridueña. Either way, Blue Beetle’s unexpected survival is now official.
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2007. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
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