Surprise! Xolo Maridueña will be suiting up as the Blue Beetle again as part of the cast of the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow film, sources close to production confirm to Deadline. This is the first time he will play the DC Comics character since the 2023 film directed by Ángel Manuel Soto.
Deadline has reached out to DC Studios for comment.
Maridueña joins the previously announced cast that includes David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, Nicholas Hoult playing Lex Luthor, Lars Eidinger as Brainiac, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, and Adria Arjona as Maxima. Aaron Pierre also stars.
Production has been ongoing since April in Atlanta and continues through the summer.
Back in 2024, Deadline announced exclusively that a Blue Beetle animated series was in the works from Miguel Puga, Warner Bros. Animation, and DC Studios. Last year, HBO Max revealed it would prioritize adult and family programming, with children’s programming taking a step back because it doesn’t fare as well and is no longer viewed as a priority. The Blue Beetle animated series was targeting young audiences, who made up a large swath of the giant bug’s fanbase. There have been no updates on the project since the original announcement.
The Blue Beetle film focused on the third character to play the titular superhero in the comics, Jaime Reyes, a popular El Paso teen. Created by Charles Wojtkowski for Fox Comics in 1939, Jaime first appeared in comic books in the high-tech alien armor in 2006.
Maridueña’s Blue Beetle is shown as a recent college graduate who returns home to figure out what he wants to do with his life. While taking a job alongside his younger sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo), he disagrees with Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), of the infamous Kord Industries, while defending Victoria’s beautiful niece, Jenny (Bruna Marquezine).
The Kord family drama blows up after Jaime, unknowingly, finds himself holding an alien scarab that has the power to turn special holders into Blue Beetle. It’s very rare for the one who possesses the scarab to turn into the superhero, but it miraculously works for Jaime, thus ruining Kord Industries’ plans for world domination. The film follows Jaime’s adventures from an unemployed pre-law graduate with no prospects to giving Kord the battle of a lifetime.
