Director Angel Manuel Soto has outlined his plans for a Blue Beetle trilogy.
"When [writer] Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer and I were working on the script, we always saw this as the first act," Soto tells 12DOVE of his new DC film.
"You’re introduced to the world, you meet him, [there’s] an inciting incident, and then he’s off to the new world. We wanted to do that part then – for the next movie – see him take what he’s learned, put it into practice, fail, triumph, and then eventually grow."
It’s Jaime’s arc that is at the forefront of any plans for the character’s cinematic future. Soto, though, is at pains to point out that no projects are currently in the works.
However, the hero that DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn called the "first DCU character" could potentially grow into a more mature presence in the fledgling cinematic universe.
"These movies, they take their time to make. Jaime, as a person, matures with time. Tonally, we want to mature with him," Soto explains. "When you put them together – I’m talking as if they already exist! – you see an arc of a young, naive boy with illusions of a life that society told him [to be] potentially becoming a hero that saves the world."
Previously, Soto told Total Film magazine that he wanted to do "at least" two more Blue Beetle movies.
"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 said in a recent issue. "And taking the traditional three-act structure of a story, we wanted our first movie to practically be the first act of a saga."
So, attention Blue Beetle Battalion: there’s still a chance we can get a full trilogy from Jaime Reyes – one that has a more mature endgame.
Blue Beetle is set to hit cinemas on August 18.
For more, check out our movie release dates calendar and our guide to new superhero movies.
