I couldn’t say enough good things last year about Charm City Kings, a gritty coming-of-age film set in the streets of Baltimore. And now I’m happy to learn that film’s director, Angel Manuel Soto, is moving up to much bigger things. The Wrap reports Soto will head to the DCEU on the Blue Beetle film that’s been buzzing around since 2018.
If you recall, that Blue Beetle film was to center on Jamie Reyes, a Latino teen and the third to take up the superhero mantle. That idea remains in place, making Blue Bettle the first Latino superhero lead for DC Films. Soto will direct from a script by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, who wrote the recent Miss Bala remake.
The most famous Blue Beetle was Ted Kord, who didn’t have superpowers but wore a high-tech suit and used various weapons and gadgets to fight crime. He was preceded by Dan Garrett, who got his powers from a sacred scarab. Reyes took over the mantle from Kord during the events of 2006’s Infinite Crisis, when Kord was murdered in cold blood. Unlike Kord, Reyes has powers gifted to him by the original scarab that once belonged to Garrett.
The plan is for a fall start, which means we could be hearing some casting news very soon.
