‘Blue Beetle’ director Angel Manuel Soto discusses the approach to DC lore in the film: ‘Let’s do whatever the f**k we want’

Blue Beetle has finally arrived, or at least the trailer has. After years of speculations and uncertainty, fans will finally be able to catch a glimpse of one of DC’s most beloved characters. Aug. 18 can’t come soon enough.

Following the exploits of Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) after he discovers a mysterious alien artifact known as the Scarab, Reyes must balance his newfound powers with his equally chaotic family life — all while heroically saving the day.

What’s not to like? As DC’s first Latinx hero, Blue Beetle looks to redefine what it means to be a do-gooder in the DCU. The film’s director Angel Manuel Soto, also a member of the Latinx community, sat down with Collider to discuss the comic book lore surrounding Blue Beetle as a character — and how Soto and his team decided to seriously shake things up for the better.

“New 52 was a big inspiration, as far as like the suit goes and other aspects of the story, but we took a lot from bits and pieces. There’s a lot of great stuff in all the different runs. We were like, ‘Man, how do we choose one? Do we choose one?’ So, it was like, ‘No, let’s do whatever the f**k we want. Let’s have fun and create something awesome. Let’s create something really interesting that takes the greatest hits, even from the Injustice 2 game.'”

For those who are unfamiliar, The New 52 was an unprecedented relaunch of DC’s entire comic line in 2011. Making DC more modern and accessible, this historic run of (you guessed it) 52 individual comics released each month forever changed DC’s trajectory. One such character revamped by The New 52 just so happened to be Blue Beetle, wherein the hero has an aesthetic upgrade, as well as an altered backstory.

“We really dove into that because it’s f**king dope. There are so many great things that go back to Infinite Crisis, and then even to the new one, Graduation Day, which actually took a lot from what we did in the movie.”

Angel Manuel Soto playing fast and loose with Blue Beetle’s lore is exactly what this character needed, and turning his cinematic debut into a cherry-picked collection of origin stories will likely make the film feel familiar yet unique. In many ways, Blue Beetle has always been DC’s answer to Spider-Man. Both are young people trying to find their place in the world, both are witty and loud-mouthed, and both are incredibly awesome. Oh, and they’re both bug-themed.

Still, no comic character has ever been quite like Blue Beetle, and we couldn’t be more excited to see Jaime Reyes brought to the big screen. Until then, we’re just going to watch the trailer over and over until our eyes bleed.