Xolo Maridueña Teases Big Plans for ‘Blue Beetle’ Animated Series, Aiming for 2026 Release

Blue Beetle was a relatively unknown character to the masses, so it wasn’t surprising that his movie titled ‘Blue Beetle’ released back in 2023 would underperform. Still, James Gunn promised that there is a place for both Blue Beetle and for Xolo Maridueña who played him in the DCU, and the director apparently made good on his word.

A few months back it was announced that Blue Beetle’s solo animated series is in the works, making Jaime Reyes one of the few heroes to make a jump from DCEU to DCU.

Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios are developing an animated series to continue the Blue Beetle stories. Miguel Puga will be the showrunner and director, with Cristian Martinez as the writer. Angel Manuel Soto and Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, the director and screenwriter of the 2023 film, will executive produce alongside John Rikard. Galen Vaisman will oversee the series for DC Studios.

The animated series will build on the movie but will tell its own story rather than retelling the film’s plot. If successful, this series could potentially lead to another big-screen appearance for Blue Beetle.

Maridueña, who won a Saturn Award for his role in ‘Cobra Kai,’ shared that he and the team are working hard on the ‘Blue Beetle’ animated series. He hopes to finalize everything in 2025 and aims to release the show in 2026. Maridueña joked about being “ready to come back” and expressed excitement to finally show fans the new series.

Hey man, arrest me! [laughs] I’m ready to come back. We’re hitting hard this animated project, hoping to get this settled out this year to show everyone next year.

Maridueña also said he’s excited about whatever comes next for Blue Beetle, but he understands there’s a process. He trusts James Gunn’s earlier statement that Blue Beetle will play a big role in the DC universe moving forward. ‘Cobra Kai’ star is just happy with how the first movie turned out and plans to keep promoting it while they work on the second one. He joked that once the current projects are finished, he’s ready to put the suit on again.

Look, he’s got his hands in his kitchen. I don’t want to walk in while the chef is doing his thing. But I can say that once they’re finished with this three-course meal, I’m ready. And look, I have no reason to believe that he’s lying. Like, whatever, we’re adults, say whatever you want to say! [laughs] I’m just happy to have done this first one and I’ll continue to spread the word about that while we get the second one drafted up.

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