‘Blue Beetle’ director names animated and video game inspirations behind his incoming DCU debut

The tables have turned for Blue Beetle in a big way over these past few weeks; once seemingly destined as another failure in DC‘s cinematic exploits, the big-screen debut of the cobalt-clad hero now looks all but ready to clean up at the box office in a respectable way; such is the power of fanbases with the gumption of the Battalion.

And with Cobra Kai‘s Xolo Maridueña leading the charge as the titular Jaime Reyes, to say nothing of the film’s ever-enthusiastic helmsman in Ángel Manuel Soto, Blue Beetle just might have what it takes to not only make good on the efforts of its most fervent fans, but earn itself a few converts in the process.

What’s more, the signs keep pointing to good fortune with every passing day, as Soto appears to have carefully crafted the most spectacular love letter to Blue Beetle the world has ever seen. In an interview with The Playlist, the director revealed that animated series Young Justice and fighting game Injustice 2 were among Blue Beetle‘s most prominent influences, and anyone familiar with those two marvels of DC content should be all but tickled pink at this state of affairs.

“We definitely based a lot on not just the comics, but things like Young Justice, too… There’s a couple combos from Injustice in there too.”

We knew there would be flavors of the SnyderVerse gracing the nooks and crannies of Blue Beetle, but knowing that the film will be pulling from DC’s elite in animation and video games is yet another green flag that the origin story can happily add to its collection.

Blue Beetle arrives in cinemas on Aug. 18.