Next month's Blue Beetle movie will put Jaime Reyes front and centre, though there are many fans who are disappointed that neither Ted Kord nor Dan Garrett will be a significant part of this story.
They held the Blue Beetle mantle long before Jaime, of course, with Ted widely considered the "classic version" of the superhero. Both heroes will be referenced in this movie, with their respective costumes previously shown in trailers (suggesting Jaime uncovers their old base).
Ted's sister, the villainous Victoria Kord, will be played by Susan Sarandon, and director Angel Manuel Soto has now addressed the role both previous Blue Beetles will play in Jaime's origin story while speaking to Den of Geek.
"Her relationship with Ted and the fact Ted has a daughter is very present in the movie," the filmmaker teases. "A lot of Ted's gadgets are also important to the film. So being able to keep the idea of Ted and Dan Garrett in the movie and how that came to be, does help Jaime understand what he’s going through."
"Some of the people around him are fans of Blue Beetle. It’s Jaime’s story, but the context still exists, and a lot of it was thought out and executed and done with the intention of bringing someone back in the future."
DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has confirmed Blue Beetle's lead will be part of the new DCU, though a sequel sadly seems doubtful if those early box office tracking figures are correct. Jaime and Ted could appear in other projects, with the latter surely a lock for the Booster Gold TV series which is currently in the works.
In Blue Beetle, recent college grad Jaime Reyes returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab.
When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero known as Blue Beetle.
This movie stars Xolo Maridueña, Adriana Barraza, Damían Alcázar, Elpidia Carrillo, Bruna Marquezine, Raoul Max Trujillo, Belissa Escobedo, Harvey Guillén, with Susan Sarandon, and George Lopez. Soto directs from a screenplay by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer.
Blue Beetle arrives in theaters on August 18.