‘Let’s send him to Gotham’: ‘Blue Beetle’ director wants a Batman crossover at all costs, even if it’s George Clooney

Blue Beetle is set to arrive in just a few weeks, having made the leap from streaming exclusive to a full theatrical release. Though it’s seen a relatively subdued marketing campaign so far things are picking up, with Rotten Tomatoes naming it as the most-anticipated August release.

But when the dust has settled on Jaime Reyes’ first solo adventure, where next for him? An interview with director Angel Manuel Soto indicates the future may be Bat-shaped. After interviewer Jake Hamilton points out that Reyes’ sweatshirt indicates he studied in Gotham, he asks Soto who his Batman is and if Reyes ever had any contact with him while in the city. Soto replied:

“When we thought about it, we were like okay, it makes sense to show Jaime Reyes coming home from studying abroad … so we’re like ‘Let’s send him to Gotham.'”

But the DCU is a very different place nowadays than a few years ago, so did Reyes visit the Gotham of Affleck, Keaton or Clooney?

“As far as which Batman it is, that is actually a great question. We wanted to make it feel like it could probably belong to any of the Batmans that we have learned to love and hopefully in the future we’ll see who he teams up with.”

It’s a diplomatic response, likely because the current identity of the DCU Batman is very much up in the air. Technically, as per The Flash, Reyes’ Batman should be George Clooney. That said, the consensus is that Clooney’s unexpected arrival in the final scene of that movie is a one-off joke rather than anything that’s going to be built upon.

The next Batman to be unveiled will be the version in The Brave and the Bold, which will loosely adapt Grant Morrison’s iconic late 2000s run and show the Dark Knight dealing with the unexpected arrival of his homicidal son, Damien Wayne. The early stages of The Brave and the Bold casting are likely underway, so perhaps the Blue Beetle Batman will retroactively become whoever gets cast in this movie?

Either way, Blue Beetle looks like it’s shaping up very well if the trailers are anything to go by. Here’s hoping Jaime Reyes sticks the landing when he touches down on Aug. 17.