‘Blue Beetle’ director confirms film is in DCU and ‘future installments’ of superhero universe

Though many DC Universe projects have remained on hold under the new leadership of Peter Safran and James Gunn, the upcoming Blue Beetle cinema is not one of them.

Director Angel Manuel Soto recently said Total Film Magazine that the film directed by Xolo Maridueña is absolutely part of that world and that conversation. He said, “We’re part of the universe, we’re part of the world, we’re part of the plans that they’ve created for future installments of the DCU.”

Soto continued: “But we are not tied to all the films of the past. Yes, our film lives in the world where superheroes exist. But that doesn’t mean that a certain event, or a certain alliance, or certain things from the past determine where our film is going.”

The director also teased his hopes for the future of the franchise, which includes a potential trilogy.

“Our first film, the way we wanted to make it, was always with the mindset that we wanted to make at least two more,” Soto added. “And taking the traditional three-act structure of a story, we wanted our first film to be basically the first act of a saga.”

The film, which marks DC’s first film to focus on a Latino superhero, follows Jaime Reyes who gains super-powered armor following an interaction with an alien scarab. As he tries to accept his new reality, he must also determine why the alien beetle came to Earth and chose him.

Last week, Gunn also confirmed on the Inside You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast that Blue Beetle is “the first DCU character” and that “the first full DCU movie is Superman.”

Blue Beetle is one of three films, including The flash AND Aquaman and the lost kingdomwhich were made before Gunn and Safran took over DC Studios, and were set to be released this year.

Blue Beetle will hit theaters on August 18.