Xolo Maridueña’s Jaime Reyes was the old regime’s last hero standing — and the one James Gunn keeps finding reasons to mention.
Jaime Reyes should not have survived the regime change — on paper. Blue Beetle landed in August 2023 as the last release of the old DCEU order, a modest $131 million worldwide performer that opened soft and then simply refused to leave the conversation: strong word of mouth, a family-first story critics kind of loved, and a star in Xolo Maridueña who arrived fully formed as the DCU’s first Latino lead. When James Gunn and Peter Safran rebuilt DC Studios, almost every legacy casting was quietly shown the door. Jaime Reyes was not among them — and the reason is the pattern this post keeps circling: Gunn has consistently, publicly treated Maridueña’s Beetle as an asset rather than a leftover.
The statements of record are few but pointed. Gunn confirmed as the new slate launched that Blue Beetle would continue in the DCU — the character, carried by the same actor, was declared part of the new canon while The Flash and Aquaman closed out the old. That single keep-decision reframed the 2023 film: it stopped being an orphan and became, retroactively, the DCU’s secret first chapter — its Palmera City, its Reyes family and its scarab mythology now load-bearing mythology instead of leftover continuity.
Then the development trail went quiet in the way DC development trails do: an animated series in development at DC Studios/Warner Bros. Animation with Maridueña expected to voice Jaime — and then, largely, silence. Supergirl and Clayface got dates. Lanterns got cast. The beetle got patience.
Which is why the Man of Tomorrow chatter lands. This summer’s Superman sequel reporting — the film’s July 9, 2027 date, Brainiac as its reported villain, the Luthor team-up structure — keeps pulling ensemble speculation in its wake, and Jaime Reyes is the name that refuses to leave the fan shortlists for one simple reason: he is the only legacy hero Gunn personally vouched for who has not yet been placed on the new board. An actor under no obligation to stay quiet has stayed ready; a character Gunn publicly kept has stayed unplaced. In DC Studios math, that is not limbo. That is a held card.
The 247 Take — Gunn kept exactly one hero from the old world whole, and it was the teenager in the alien suit. Whatever “held” means in the DCU, Jaime Reyes will not be on the shelf when the next era’s ensemble forms — the only real question is whether he suits up in Man of Tomorrow or anchors his own animated lane first.
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Sources: reporting based on James Gunn’s on-record statements on Blue Beetle’s DCU status (DC Studios, 2023–present); Blue Beetle (Warner Bros. Pictures, 2023); Xolo Maridueña interviews and DC Studios slate reporting (2024–2026). Investigation/opinion — no official Man of Tomorrow casting has been announced.
