WATCH: New trailer arrives for Blue Beetle as it’s confirmed the first movie of James Gunn’s new DCU

We’re now exactly a month away from the release of the Blue Beetle movie and we have a new trailer and some exciting news about the future of the character.

Ever since James Gunn and Peter Safran took over creative control of the DCU, there’s been confusion about what movies and/or characters would be carrying over to the next chapter of DC on film… this year alone, we’ve had The Flash, Shazam: Fury of the Gods and still to come is Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in December and, as of now, we’re still unsure if any of these stories or characters will be returning.

Well, until now… at least we know that we will likely see Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña’s Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle return at some stage in the future (unless the movie is a total disaster – let’s be honest, the last few movies in the DC line-up haven’t exactly fared well).

The news of Blue Beetle’s beginning of the DCU – as it’s now called – was first broken by the movie’s director Angel Manuel Soto, who said: “We are part of the universe, we are part of the world, we are part of the plans that they have been creating for the future installments of the DCU.”

WATCH: Fun first trailer for DC’s Blue Beetle movie flies in

He went on that, even though they’re part of that world, they aren’t tied to anything: “But we are not tied to all the films from the past. Yes, our movie lives in the world where superheroes exist. But that doesn’t mean that a certain event, or certain alliance, or certain things from the past dictate where our film is going.”

Blue Beetle, under the previous DCEU, was, along with the now-canned Batgirl, envisioned as a direct-to-streaming release for HBO Max before it was given a larger budget and pushed for a theatrical release.

“Our first movie, the way we wanted to do it, was always with the mentality that we wanted to do two more, at least,” Soto goes on, “And taking the traditional three-act structure of a story, we wanted our first movie to practically be the first act of a saga.”

Confirming the news, Gunn himself has said that while he and Safan’s vision for DC kicks off with the animated series Creature Commandos and Superman: Legacy will be the first movie under the new leadership, Blue Beetle will be the start of the new universe… confused? I totally get it.

“The first Dcu character for sure is Blue Beetle and the first full DCU movie is Superman,” Gunn says in a new interview, below.

Watch the Gunn interview here:

James Gunn says “The first Dcu character for sure is Blue Beetle and the first full dcu movie is Superman”
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Via:https://t.co/LGR0liUUpl pic.twitter.com/fixgUdMT3l

— Blue Beetle Updates (@Bluebeetlenews) June 13, 2023

Adding to this, Blue Beetle star Maridueña has teased that DC fans should keep their eyes open during the movie as there will be a few surprise faces: “I think if you’re a DC fan, there’s going to be more than just one character that you recognise,” the Cobra Kai star said, “I can tell you that.”

A while back one of the stars of the movie teased that Batman was in the movie (here) but since then we have lost both Micheal Keaton and Ben Affleck as the Dark Knight, and James Gunn himself has confirmed that George Clooney (highlight to read) playing Bruce Wayne in The Flash’s final scene does not mean he’s the new Batman in the DCU… so who will we see? I guess we’ll all find out next month.

Are you looking forward to Blue Beetle? Let me know…

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Blue Beetle lands in cinemas on August 18th, Creature Commandos is due next year and Superman: Legacy is scheduled for July 11th, 2025.

The film also stars Adriana Barraza (“Rambo: Last Blood,” “Thor”) as Jaime’s grandmother, Nana, Damían Alcázar (“Narcos,” “Narcos: Mexico”) as his father, Elpidia Carrillo (“Mayans M.C.,” the “Predator” films) as his mother, Bruna Marquezine (“Maldivas,” “God Save the King”) as Jenny Kord, Raoul Max Trujillo (the “Sicario” films, “Mayans M.C.”) as Carapax, with Oscar winner Susan Sarandon (“Monarch,” “Dead Man Walking”) as Victoria Kord, and George Lopez (the “Rio and “Smurf” franchises) as Jaime’s Uncle Rudy. The film also stars Belissa Escobedo (“American Horror Stories,” “Hocus Pocus 2”) as Jaime’s sister, Milagro, and Harvey Guillén (“What We Do in the Shadows”) as Dr. Sanchez.

Source: Total Film, The Wrap,