DC’s more obscure superhero character, Blue Beetle, finally debuted in live-action cinema last month. While the initial box-office projection of the movie was low, Blue Beetle has made a slow yet steady climb in the box-office even surpassing a previous DC movie, Shazam: Fury of the Gods.
The director of Blue Beetle Angel Manuel Soto has already confirmed plans for Blue Beetle to appear in the DCU. However, the question arises: Where does Blue Beetle even take place, the DCEU or the DCU? Judging by the events of the film, it didn’t reference any of the established universes.
Blue Beetle Doesn't Feature DCEU Actor Cameos
The reboot slate of DC has been quite confusing and among these, the biggest confusion was where in the timeline the movie takes place. Having no appearances from DCEU characters was one of the clues that Blue Beetle does not take place in DCEU. However, this decision could probably be due to the small budget of the movie. It could also be so that fans don’t take it as meaning that DCEU superheroes could appear in future movies.
Batman’s cameo from the upcoming Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom was also cut due to the same reason. However, there is one DC superhero that appears in Blue Beetle. Although it was just for a moment, early on when the scarab is shown flying through space for the first time, a green object appears in space that has been confirmed to be a member of the Green Lantern Corp by the film’s director, Angel Manuel Soto.
Blue Beetle Doesn't Contradict The Past Or Future DCU Movies
Just like Man of Steel, the first ever film in the DCEU, Jaime Reyes’ story as Blue Beetle focused solely on the character without the involvement of any other character. Maybe, at some point in development, the movie did feature cameos from DCEU superheroes, but that’s not the case anymore. To avoid any confusion, the movie’s events were exclusive of any continuity and for that, it doesn’t affect any past DCEU or future DCU movies.
The entirety of the film was pretty much self-contained focusing on its own events rather than the whole of a universe. Even the director of the movie stated in an interview earlier this year that Blue Beetle can exist anywhere and it would be up to James Gunn to decide where the superhero fits in the grand scheme of things.
How Blue Beetle Can Fit In The DCU Future
The future of DCU is already looking bright and will take an entirely different path than any other superhero universe. Rather than building a superhero universe from the start, DCU will have already established superheroes. James Gunn already has experience making obscure superheroes into box-office success so Gunn could treat Blue Beetle in the same way he treated Guardians of the Galaxy which which could potentially make the character the future face of the DCU.
Furthermore, Blue Beetle's story is more than what meets the eye having its origin traced back to The Reach, an alien species that uses Scarabs to attach to hosts and invade planets. The Reach is also one of the biggest enemies of the Green Lantern Corp. After the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Jaime Reyes ended up being friends with Guy Gardner and formed a deep connection. Guy Gardener is a member of the Green Lantern Corp who will be played by Nathan Fillion in the upcoming DCU and will make his appearance in Superman: Legacy. Just like in the comics, Blue Beetle could form a friendship with Guy Gardener, and considering how The Reach are the Green Lanterns’ biggest enemies, they could potentially be one of the biggest antagonists whether it's in a Blue Beetle movie, Lantern Show, or maybe in a future potential Justice League movie.
Just as in the comics, there's the potential for Blue Beetle to form a friendship bond with Guy Gardner. The Reach could also appear as main antagonists, whether in a future Blue Beetle movie, a Lantern Show, or possibly a Justice League movie.
There are several ways Blue Beetle's future can go ahead but it all depends on James Gunn to decide if he's in the new DCU continuity or not. Gunn has already confirmed Superman: Legacy to be the start of the new DCU and until the release of the film, it is most probable that the co-CEO wouldn't confirm Blue Beetle’s continuity considering the start of the DCU should be with a big movie. Furthermore, Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom is also stated to be the last DCEU movie to be released before it gets a soft reboot.
While neither the film's director nor James Gunn has properly confirmed which timeline Blue Beetle takes place, judging by the way they put it, it solely relies on the film's success.
Blue Beetle Is Currently Available To Watch In Theaters