Variety and other outlets report that Xolo Maridueña will reprise the role of Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle in the Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, releasing July 9, 2027. It’ll mark the actor’s first appearance as the character since the 2023 Blue Beetle movie, and make him one of the few actors from the DC Extended Universe to be retained for the current DCU, although the film was released after that year’s The Flash ostensibly reset DC’s shared film and TV setting.
Director James Gunn had stated in 2023 that while 2025’s Superman would be the first DCU film, Maridueña’s Jaime is “the first DCU character, for sure,” and an animated series, with the cast of Blue Beetle all reprising their roles, has been in the works since 2024. While Blue Beetle was not a commercial success on release, only grossing $130 million worldwide against a $120 million budget, it became one of the most well-reviewed films in the DCEU, and Maridueña’s performance earned him the Saturn Award for Best Younger Performer in a Film.
Jaime was created by the late Keith Giffen with John Rogers and Cully Hamner in 2006, and his addition to Man of Tomorrow cements Giffen’s influence on the DCU, with its Justice League International-inspired take on Guy Gardner and Maxwell Lord, and Lobo’s addition to Supergirl. It’s unknown how Jaime will factor into the movie, which will see Superman (David Corenswet) and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) team up to defeat Brainiac (Lars Eidinger), although it’s possible he will cross paths with Supergirl (Milly Alcock) to help set up the planned Teen Titans movie.
Other additions to the Man of Tomorrow cast include Aaron Pierre as the Green Lantern John Stewart, Adria Arjona as Maxima, and Andre Royo, Matthew Lillard & Sinqua Walls in undisclosed roles. Rachel Brosnahan, Skyler Gisondo, Wendell Pierce, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, Isabela Merced, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion, María Gabriela de Faría, Sara Sampaio, Mikaela Hoover, Frank Grillo, and Stephen Blackehart are also set to reprise their roles from Superman.
In the meantime, Maridueña has continued his association with DC by voicing Snowy the Snowcrawler on Batwheels, and crossed over to Marvel on Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur as Kid Kree, as well as Invincible as Fightmaster and Dropkick on season three. He’ll also appear next year on the third season of Netflix’s One Piece (also featuring Mikaela Hoover), where he’ll portray Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy)’s foster brother Portgas D. Ace.
