Star of Cobra Kai is in negotiations for the lead role in the first DC movie focused on a Latino superhero, Blue Beetle
The actor of Cobra Kai, Xolo Maridueña, is in negotiations for the lead role in Blue beetle for HBO Max and Warner Bros, as confirmed The Hollywood Reporter.
Angel Manuel Soto, director of Charm City Kings, was chosen by DC Films to direct the first DC film centered on a Latin superhero. Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, screenwriter for Miss bullet and the next reboot of Scarface, wrote the script for Blue beetle.
Xolo Mariduena stars in the Netflix series, Cobra Kai, alongside Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Courtney Henggeler, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, Martin Kove, Jacob Bertrand, Nichole Brown and Peyton List.
There have been multiple iterations of Blue beetle in the DC comics, but the movie will focus on Jaime Reyes, a teenager from El Paso who wears alien armor granted by a strange artifact to defend his hometown. Reyes first debuted in DC comics in Infinite Crisis No. 3 in February 2006 from screenwriters Keith Giffen, John Rogers and artist Cully Hamner.
Jaime Reyes is the third character to assume the mantle of Blue Beetle, but he is substantially different from his predecessors. Introduced in 1939, the original Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett, was a police officer who fought crime with superpowers acquired by ingesting Vitamin 2X.
A revamped version of this character, archaeologist Dan Garrett, introduced in 1964 had mystical abilities acquired by an ancient Egyptian scarab. Later in 1966 Ted Kord was introduced, a Garrett student who continued his legacy in his fight against crime, although he had no superpowers. The version of Jaime Reyes in 2006 retroactive and expanded the myth of Blue beetle, changing the origin of his powers, revealing that the alien-origin beetle joins Reyes in providing him with armor shortly after Kord’s death. Though only a teenager, Reyes quickly forms a working relationship with Kord’s former partner and best friend, Booster Gold, and is inducted into the Teen Titans.
The next Warner Bros movie to hit the big screen is Suicide squad by James Gunn, which will premiere this Friday, August 6. The movie Blue beetle is looking to start production in early 2022. John Rickard is producing for HBO Max and Zev Foreman is the executive producer.