BLUE BEETLE Star Xolo Maridueña Gives Update on the Future of His Character in the DCU
One of the few actors that James Gunn was willing to bring over from the previous DC film universe was Xolo Maridueña, who portrayed Blue Beetle in 2023.
This film featured the first live-action Latin superhero to headline his own major studio film, and it was a lot of fun! The movie didn’t take itself as seriously as many of the DC flops that came before it, and Maridueña gave a great performance. But we don’t know when we will see him back in live-action.
Last year, Warner Bros. announced that Blue Beetle would be getting an animated series, so the character does have something in the works, but we would still like to know how he will fit in Gunn’s DCU. Maridueña gave an update on both fronts during recent appearances promoting the Smurfs movie, in which he is playing Brainy Smurf.
In an interview with ScreenRant, the actor said of the animated show:
"The universe is cracked open. Pandora's Box is open, for lack of a better word. I love the animation medium. I love getting to continue to explore and try my best to fit this character. Having already done Blue Beetle, I know the character and know the voice now. I'm excited to see him in the actual format of animation, and to see what stories we can tell that we can't tell in live-action... I'm excited to see how Blue Beetle fits in."
Maridueña also spoke with a YouTube personality (via CBM) while making the interview rounds, where he again touched on the future of Blue Beetle:
"James Gunn, Peter Safran, John Rickard- everybody over at DCU has been so kind in welcoming into the DCU. They just had a really awesome release, and I'm really excited that this is an awesome first step in the direction of opening up that universe," said Maridueña, referencing Superman's opening weekend domestic release.
He continued:
"We've got some animated stuff, some live-action stuff- a whole bunch of areas that Blue Beetle and the greater Reyes family can join in, so I'm blessed. I'm just hoping that it can be with Ángel Manuel Soto- that's my guy."
We will just have to wait and see what happens with the character, but at least we know he’s in the mix and his future is being considered at DC.