One of the most surprising high points of the DCEU came from the last flickering embers during its dying days, the release of director Ángel Manuel Soto and Xolo Maridueña's Blue Beetle in 2023, the first live-action Latin superhero to headline his own major studio film.
While the film didn't set the box office on fire, it was well-received by critics, with 78% Rotten Tomatoes score and a generally favorable 61 metascore on metacritic.
Surprisingly, James Gunn announced that he would be bringing Maridueña's Blue Beetle from the DCEU over to the DCU, one of the few holdovers.
However, details on when and where Blue Beetle would appear in the DCU have been somewhat scarce these last few years.
It was reported in June 2024 that a Blue Beetle animated series was in the works at DC Studios, serving as a direct followup to the DCEU film, but there's been little chatter about when that series will be released.
Now, while promoting his role as Brainy Smurf in the upcoming Smurfs movie, Maridueña is providing a few updates.
Speaking to ScreenRant, it seems the animated series is still happening and in development.
"The universe is cracked open. Pandora's Box is open, for lack of a better word," the Kobra Kai actor told the site. "I love the animation medium. I love getting to continue to explore and try my best to fit this character. Having already done Blue Beetle, I know the character and know the voice now. I'm excited to see him in the actual format of animation, and to see what stories we can tell that we can't tell in live-action... I'm excited to see how Blue Beetle fits in."
Maridueña also spoke with a YouTube personality to promote the Smurfs movie, also touching on Blue Beetle.
"James Gunn, Peter Safran, John Rickard- everybody over at DCU has been so kind in welcoming into the DCU. They just had a really awesome release, and I'm really excited that this is an awesome first step in the direction of opening up that universe," said Maridueña, referencing Superman's opening weekend domestic release.
He continued, "We've got some animated stuff, some live-action stuff- a whole bunch of areas that Blue Beetle and the greater Reyes family can join in, so I'm blessed. I'm just hoping that it can be with Ángel Manuel Soto- that's my guy."
[The interview starts at the 4:23 mark in the video below.]
Keep it locked to CBM for future DCU coverage as it's likely that Gunn and Safran will be announcing and confirming more projects in the wake of Superman's successful launch.