#‘Blue Beetle’ Director Confirms Film Is in the DCU and “Future Installments” of the Superhero Universe

Although many DC Universe projects have been left up in the air under Peter Safran and James Gunn’s new leadership, the upcoming Blue Beetle film is not one of them.

Director Angel Manuel Soto recently told Total Film magazine that the Xolo Maridueña-led movie is absolutely a part of that world and conversation. He said, “We are part of the universe, we are part of the world, we are part of the plans that they have been creating for the future installments of the DCU.”

Soto continued, “But we are not tied to all the films from the past. Yes, our movie lives in the world where superheroes exist. But that doesn’t mean that a certain event, or certain alliance, or certain things from the past dictate where our film is going.”

The filmmaker also teased his hopes for the future of the franchise, which includes a potential trilogy.

“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 added. “And taking the traditional three-act structure of a story, we wanted our first movie to practically be the first act of a saga.”

The film, which marks DC’s first film to center on a Latino superhero, follows Jaime Reyes who gains superpower armor following an interaction with an alien scarab. As he tries to accept his new reality, he must also determine why the alien scarab came to Earth and chose him.

Last week, Gunn also confirmed on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast that Blue Beetle is “the first DCU character” and that “the first full DCU movie is Superman.”

Blue Beetle is one of three films, including The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, that were made before Gunn and Safran took over DC Studios, and were planned to be released this year.

Blue Beetle is set to hit theaters on Aug. 18.