Blue Beetle director Angel Manuel Soto has revealed more details about his initial Bane pitch – including that it would have seemingly been part of Matt Reeves’ ever-growing Batman universe.
After receiving acclaim for his Sundance debut with Charm City Kings, Soto was called into a general meeting with DC.
"You have to be prepared if they ask you what you want to do," Soto told The Hollywood Reporter. "And I’ve always wanted to explore the origin story of Bane. It’s super intriguing, especially where he comes from and the different topics that could be explored if we take into consideration that maybe he’s the hero of his own story. So it was very interesting to be able to talk about situations that have affected the Caribbean and Latin America for centuries through the character of Bane."
"So I came in with that idea, but that was Matt Reeves’ universe with The Batman, and I don’t know what’s going to happen now with this new regime. But that was my main attempt, and [DC executive] Galen [Vaisman] was like, ‘Okay, that’s a good idea, but we wanted to pitch you something.’ And that’s when he introduced the idea of Blue Beetle," Soto recalled.
The director, of course, went on to helm Blue Beetle – which is currently showing in cinemas. The Batman helped kick off Matt Reeves’ Bat-verse, with a Penguin spin-off also in the works. A second show, centered around Arkham Asylum, is also in development. The Batman 2, starring Robert Pattinson, is currently set for October 3, 2025.
The character of Blue Beetle, though, will be part of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU. DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters will begin with Creature Commandos and Superman: Legacy and will reboot DC’s cinematic universe. Other projects not tied to the DCU – including The Batman and the upcoming Joker sequel – will be released under the ‘Elseworlds’ label.
For more on Blue Beetle, check out a snippet of our interview with the director on how much say James Gunn had in the final cut. Then there’s a look at Blue Beetle post-credits scenes, Blue Beetle Easter Eggs, and whether Blue Beetle is in the DCU.
