DC’s ‘Blue Beetle’ Latino-Fronted Movie In Development at Warner Bros.

As DC continues to fuel itself will standalone superhero movies in the DC Extended Universe, another lesser-known (but definitely a fan-favorite) character is set to make his debut in the big screen—Jaime Reyes AKA Blue Beetle.

TheWrap reports that Mexican-born scribe Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer will pen the screenplay for DC’s first Latino-led superhero flick. Jaime is a teenager imbued with the alien Blue Beetle Scarab’s power. With this, he can create a weaponized exoskeleton that gives him the mantle and capabilities of the Blue Beetle.

Blue Beetle is a superhero mantle that was passed on to three generations, starting with Dan Garret, Ted Kord, and eventually, Jaime Reyes. The superhero underwent many changes and creators throughout his comic book run. Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski created Dan Garret’s character in 1939, first appearing in “Mystery Men Comics #1.” The Ted Kord Blue Beetle iteration, however, was created by comic book legend Steve Ditko and first appeared in “Captain Atom (Charlton) #83” in 1966. Finally, Jaime’s version came out in 2006, created b Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner, first appearing in Infinite Crisis #3.

Jaime’s Blue Beetle origins differ from that of Ted Kord’s but are similar to Dan Garrett’s. Dan harnesses the power of the Blue Beetle Scarab that he found in Egypt. Kord, on the other hand, uses science and martial arts to aid the Blue Beetle mantle.

This will be the first time that the DCEU will feature a Latino superhero lead. Of course, Suicide Squad also saw Jay Hernandez give life to El Diablo, but it was only a secondary character. Rosie Perez will also play Latina DC character Renee Montoya in the upcoming Birds of Prey movie.