HBO Max might be calling upon Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña for Blue Beetle, the first solo superhero movie from Warner Bros. and DC Films starring a Latino character. TheWrap reports that Maridueña is currently in talks to star in Blue Beetle in the lead role of Jaime Reyes, one of multiple characters to assume the Blue Beetle mantle in DC Comics. With the cast now getting put together, production is slated to start in early 2022.

Xolo Maridueña is best known for his breakout role as Miguel Diaz in Cobra Kai, a role he's played in all three seasons of the hit Netflix series. He's set to reprise the role in the show's upcoming fourth season, due to arrive on the streamer in late 2021. The 20-year-old is also known for playing Victor Graham on the TV series Parenthood and does voiceover work for the animated shows Victor and Valentino and Cleopatra in Space.

Angel Manuel Soto (Charm City Kings) is set to direct Blue Beetle for HBO Max. Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, the Mexican-born writer who's penning Universal's upcoming Scarface remake, wrote the script for Blue Beetle. John Rickard is producing for HBO Max with Zev Foreman executive producing.

"It is an honor to direct Blue Beetle, the first Latino superhero film for DC," Soto previously told TheWrap. "I want to sincerely thank everyone at Warner Bros. and DC for trusting me to bring Jaime Reyes to life. I can't wait to make history together."

Jaime Reyes is one of three superheroes to use the Blue Beetle name in comic books. The original Blue Beetle was created by Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski for Fox Comics, debuting in Mystery Men Comics No. 1 in 1939. His alter ego at that time was Dan CGarret. When Charlton Comics later acquired the character, a new Blue Beetle was introduced with a successor named Ted Kord in the role.

DC Comics eventually came to own Blue Beetle and finally created the Jaime Reyes version of the character. Developed by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner, Jaime debuted as the Blue Beetle in Infinite Crisis No. 3 in 2006. A Mexican-American teenager living in El Paso, Jaime comes into contact with a mystical alien Scarab that bonds to his body, giving him a suit of extraterrestrial armor that he uses to fight crime.

There have been various iterations of Jaime Reyes in animated DC projects. He has also been featured in a variety of official video games. At this point, he hasn't yet had a proper solo movie or spinoff series, though we have seen a live-action version of Jaime in the past. He was played by Jaren Brandt Bartlett in the final season of Smallville, and though it included a look at the suit, the name "Blue Beetle" wasn't actually used.

No release date has yet been announced for Blue Beetle, but the plan is for filming to start in early 2022. In the meantime, fans can look forward to seeing Xolo Maridueña return for the fourth season of Cobra Kai when it premieres on Netflix in late 2021. This news comes to us from TheWrap.