Written by Edwin Francisco
Xolo Maridueña, star of Cobra Kai is now in talks to star as DC’s Blue Beetle in the planned HBO Max solo film which will be directed by Angel Manuel Soto.
DC has been busy working on their shows for HBO Max. As we reported earlier, they just recently got “In The Heights” star Leslie Grace as their Batgirl.
Now, they are already in talks with Xolo Maridueña to take the role of Jamie Reyes, also known as the Blue Beetle.
We’ve reported back in February 2021 that Angel Manuel Soto will be directing the upcoming movie.
Maridueña is currently known for his role as Miguel Diaz in the Netflix series Cobra Kai.
Additionally, he is doing voice work on animated shows like “Victor and Valentino”, and “Cleopatra in Space.”
He is also known for the 2012 show Parenthood.
Jamie Reyes is the third Blue Beetle in DC’s comic book history.
He was created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers and Cully Hamner.
Jamie Reyes was first introduced in Infinite Crisis #3 in February 2006, and his transformation into the Blue Beetle was revealed in Infinite Crisis #5 in April 2006.
Cobra Kai Star Xolo Maridueña To Star In Blue Beetle
Image: Netflix
The first Blue Beetle named Dan Garrett was created Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski.
The character was owned under Fox Comics which was later owned by Charlton Comics.
His first appearance was in Mystery Men #1 which was released in August 1939.
He originally didn’t have any superpowers but he did gain them temporarily, which includes super strength and even x-ray vision.
But when Charlton Comics got the rights to his character, he was rebooted to have a new origin and did gain powers through a mystical scarab.
The second Blue Beetle named Ted Kord replaced Garrett.
He was created by Steve Ditko and first appeared in Captain Atom #83 in November 1966 under Charlton Comics.
As Dan Garrett died, he passed the responsibility to Ted Kord but the power of the mystical scarab wasn’t transferred to him.
Image: DC Comics
Ted Kord never got any powers but did take the responsibility to be Blue Beetle.
He was a genius and used that to his advantage to make high tech gadgets and weapons.
Ted Kord held on to the mystical scarab, but after an attack by Brother Eye, the scarab appeared to be energized.
Kord brought the scarab to the wizard Shazam.
After some time, Shazam was killed and the scarab was blasted across the globe.
It landed in El Paso, Texas where Jamie Reyes lived.
The mystical scarab attached itself to Reyes.
The scarab itself can communicate with Reyes and provides him with a variety of powers (like a suit of armor, weapons, super strength, alien language translator and more) that Reyes can summon at any time.
The fused scarab can also use its powers with its own freewill in which Reyes can override if needed.
Cobra Kai Star Xolo Maridueña To Star In Blue Beetle
Image: DC Comics
Jamie Reyes was portrayed in other media too.
His character appeared in the live action “Smallville” (2001-2011), “Young Justice” (2010), “Justice League Action” (2016) and in some video games too like “Injustice 2” (2017) and “Batman: The Brave and the Bold The Video Game” (2010).
Since Jamie Reyes’ Blue Beetle is a young character compared to the more established characters in the DC Extended Universe (Even though Billy Batson is a kid, he is not counted for the reason he still turns into an adult when he calls out Shazam!).
Reyes is poised to be a representative for younger superheroes like Marvel’s Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man) or Kamala Khan (aka Ms. Marvel).
We know that the new Blue Beetle movie was originally planned with a theatrical release, but was moved to HBO Max.
A fan asked the movie director if the film will be connected to the Snyderverse, Angel Manuel Soto confirmed it via Twitter, but deleted the post later on.
What do you think of Xolo Maridueña as the new live action Blue Beetle?
Blue Beetle is planned to start filming by the end of 2021.
There is no confirmed date of release at this time.
Related: Nightwing Movie Still Alive At DC Films
