Xolo Maridueña Reveals the Surprise James Gunn Call That Brought Blue Beetle Back for Man of Tomorrow

Maridueña admitted there was never any certainty that he would get another opportunity to play Jaime Reyes.

That changed when Gunn contacted him personally.

The actor said he was in Japan with friends when the unexpected call came in, joking that seeing Gunn's name on his phone felt like the "Bat-phone" ringing.

He left the room to take the call, then returned to his friends with some very big news.

Maridueña recalled telling them, "Off the record, don't tell anyone, but we're coming back."

The actor said he is excited for audiences to discover where Blue Beetle goes next.

It's a lovely little story behind a comeback that, for quite some time, was anything but guaranteed.

What makes Maridueña's return particularly interesting is everything that happened around his first movie.

Blue Beetle arrived in August 2023 during the transition away from the old DCEU and towards the new DC Universe being developed by Gunn and Safran.

That left the movie in a strange position.

Maridueña had been well received as Jaime Reyes, but nobody really knew which characters — if any — would survive the change in direction.

Gunn had previously made it clear that he regarded Blue Beetle as part of the new DCU, even though the 2023 movie belonged to the previous era.

Now there is finally something much more concrete.

Maridueña is returning as Jaime Reyes in Man of Tomorrow.

Man of Tomorrow continues the story established by James Gunn's Superman, with David Corenswet returning as the Man of Steel and Nicholas Hoult back as Lex Luthor.

Blue Beetle's exact role is still being kept under wraps.

That is probably the most interesting part of today's comments. Maridueña is happy to talk about getting the call, but neither he nor DC is giving away exactly how Jaime Reyes fits into the story.

Whatever the size of his appearance, Man of Tomorrow gives DC an opportunity to properly fold the character into the universe Gunn has been building.

And Jaime Reyes could be a particularly good fit.

One of the strongest things about Blue Beetle was that, underneath the alien technology, superhero battles, and enormous glowing weapons, was a fairly simple story about Jaime and his family.

Maridueña brought enormous warmth to the character.

Keeping that version of Jaime rather than throwing everything away during the DC reboot feels like a smart decision.

Maridueña also acknowledged just how unpredictable Hollywood can be.

The actor explained that there are no guarantees and that many decisions surrounding a character's future are completely outside an actor's control.

That uncertainty makes Gunn's call considerably more meaningful.

Rather than recasting Jaime Reyes or quietly leaving Blue Beetle behind with the old DCEU, DC Studios has chosen to bring Maridueña with it into the next era.

For fans who enjoyed his performance in the 2023 film, that's probably the best possible outcome.

Not everything from the previous DC era needed saving.

But Xolo Maridueña's Blue Beetle absolutely deserved another shot.

The 2023 movie landed at possibly the worst moment imaginable for a new superhero. Audiences knew DC was changing direction, the previous universe was effectively finished, and it wasn't remotely clear what would carry over.

Through all of that, Maridueña still managed to make Jaime Reyes feel like somebody worth seeing again.

So we're glad Gunn picked up the phone.

More importantly, bringing Blue Beetle into Man of Tomorrow means we should finally get an answer to the question that has followed Jaime since 2023: what does this character look like when he's properly part of the new DCU rather than caught between two different versions of it?

We might finally be about to find out.

Man of Tomorrow is currently scheduled to arrive in cinemas on July 9, 2027.