DC and Warner Bros. are developing their first Latino superhero movie about Jaime Reyes, aka the “Blue Beetle,” individuals with knowledge of the project exclusively tells TheWrap.
Mexican writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, who wrote Universal’s “Scarface,” has been tapped to write the screenplay. Dunnet-Alocer also wrote the upcoming “Miss Bala” remake for Sony.
Zev Foreman is executive producing for Warner Bros.
In the comics, Mexican-American teenager Jaime Reyes is the third character to assume the mantle of the Blue Beetle after Dan Garret and Ted Kord. Created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner, the character made his first appearance in the comics in 2006’s “Infinite Crisis” #5. His own monthly series debuted two months later with “Blue Beetle” #1 in May 2006.
Jaime Reyes discovered the Blue Beetle scarab on the way home from school with two of his best friends Paco and Brenda, half-buried in a disused lot. Reyes took the scarab home, curious as to what it might be. That night, the scarab came alive, and grafted itself to the base of Jaime’s spine, and provided him with a suit of extraterrestrial armor which can be modified to enhance his speed and strength, as well as to create weapons, wings and shields.
While DC has had Latino characters in its movie universe, (Jay Hernandez as El Diablo in “Suicide Squad,” and Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya in the soon to be filming “Birds of Prey”), this will be the first stand-alone title to feature a Latino lead.
According to the MPAA, in 2017, Hispanic/Latino audiences had the highest per-capita attendance at the movies, going to the movie an average of 4.5 times a year. Latinos make up 18 percent of the population, and they buy 24 percent of the movie tickets sold in the United States. It is also worth noting, superhero movies tend to draw the most diverse audiences as Latinos made up 22 percent of the audience for “Wonder Woman” and 21 percent of the audience for “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”
Dunnet-Alcocer is represented by WME and Michael Schenkman at Bloom Hergott.