With Man of Tomorrow, the sequel to last year’s Superman, now finished filming, one of its young stars has confirmed that, as the rumours suggested, he’s back as one of DC’s most fun heroes.
In a new interview, Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña has said that after 2023’s Blue Beetle movie, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be suiting up again as the character but then the call came in from none other than James Gunn.
Just a quick catch-up: when Blue Beetle came out in 2023, it was released in the death throes of the then DCEU and while it was fairly well received by fans and critics, it was looking like the character’s first – and only- big-screen appearance. But then James Gunn entered the chat and supported the movie’s release and it became pretty clear that Gunn intended to have Maridueña back as Blue Beetle and, in fact, the movie sort of became the unofficial first movie in the new DCU overseen by Peter Safran and Gunn.
Blue Beetle animated series being developed, picking up where the movie left off
In 2024, Maridueña, aware that Blue Beetle wasn’t originally part of the new universe, said: “It’s been really great to work alongside James and Peter, who have graciously folded us into their new universe even though it wasn’t part of what they came up with. It’s an honor.”
And here we are.
“I was in Japan with my friends; nobody knew anything,” Maridueña says in the new interview while promoting Practical Magic 2, “And I just see, like the Bat-phone, my phone rings [and it’s] James Gunn. All my friends look at me, and I had to leave the room. I came back, and I was like, ‘Off the record, don’t tell anyone, but we’re coming back,’ and I’m so excited for people to see where Blue Beetle ends up.”
So, it seems that Gunn has plans for the character because not only does he appear in the Superman sequel, but there’s still an animated series in development, set in the DCU although there’s no release date set yet.
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Although he’s only 25, Maridueña already knows that getting a second bite of the apple for a character like Blue Beetle is a rare and beautiful thing: “This, stuff flips on a dime, and I know that it’s not always like a merit-based system. So there’s so much that’s out of my control, but I am just the most humbled of James and the greater DC team for folding us in, Indiana Jones style.”
So, there you have it folks, when you’re sitting down to do your DCU recap ahead of the next episode of Lanterns and then Clayface later this year, it all starts with Blue Beetle.
Man of Tomorrow is expected to hit cinemas on July 9th, 2027. The Blue Beetle animated series is expected sometime next year.
Watch the interview:
Xolo Maridueña shares his reaction to Blue Beetle returning in ‘MAN OF TOMORROW’:
“We’re back, baby! Cinema is back!”. pic.twitter.com/HYsXPvHJME
— DC Film News (@DCFilmNews) September 1, 2026
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Source: Variety
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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