Who is Blue Beetle? Fans rejoice as Cobra Kai's Xolo Maridueña set to star as the DC superhero

As DC fans await the arrival of James Gunn's The Suicide Squad globally, talk of a Blue Beetle movie is trending. According to The Wrap, Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña is currently negotiating with Warner Bros. about portraying the Latino superhero in an HBO Max film.

The Wrap's exclusive also revealed that Puerto Rican filmmaker Angel Manuel Soto (of 2018's Charm City Kings fame) is set to direct the movie. Furthermore, the Blue Beetle movie will be written by Mexican-native Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer (of 2019's Miss Bala fame).

Warner Bros. and DC have been making some diverse casting choices of late. These include Leslie Grace (of Dominican descent) being cast as Batgirl and Sasha Calle (of Colombian descent) playing Supergirl in the upcoming Flash movie.

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Who is the Blue Beetle?

Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle. (Image via: DC Comics)

Blue Beetle is the superhero mantle held by three characters. During the "Golden Age" and "Silver Age", the first iteration was an archeologist Dan Garrett who received his powers from an ancient alien blue beetle from Egypt.

Garrett was followed by Ted Kord, the second character in DC Comics to call himself Blue Beetle. The most recent iteration of Blue Beetle is Jaime Reyes, with whom most current fans are familiar.

Jaime Reyes is set to become one of the first Latino superheroes on-screen for DC films. The character was first introduced in the 2006's "Infinite Crisis Vol 1 #3" comic issue. Jamie was a teenager in El Paso, Texas, who ended up with the mystical blue beetle (Scarab), which gave Dan Garrett his powers.

The Scarab (Blue Beetle) in the comics, and in the "Young Justice" show. (Image via: DC Comics, and Warner Bros.)

The Scarab, also known as Khaji Da, is an ancient alien technology made by the alien race, Reach. Long story short, Reyes ended up with the Scarab after Ted Kord lost it at the wizard Shazam's base. After the wizard's death, the scarab ended up in El Paso, where Reyes found it.

The blue beetle activates an armor around Jaime's body, giving him abilities like flight, super durability, super strength, mechanokinesis, and more. While the armor also offers him weapons that have sound-based abilities and energy (plasma) blasts.

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Here is how fans are reacting to the news of Xolo Maridueña being cast as Blue Beetle

Several fans who have seen Xolo in the Karate Kid spin-off series Cobra Kai are excited about the upcoming movie. Some fans even labeled the news as 'perfect casting.'

Xolo Maridueña is expected to match fans' expectations as the Blue Beetle, which is apparent from the star's previous role. The 20-year old star has already established his prowess over action and stunts through his portrayal of Miguel Diaz in Cobra Kai.