Warner Bros. is developing a Blue Beetle standalone that will serve as their first Latino-led DC superhero movie. For years we've been hearing that Booster Gold was going to team up with the character for a movie set within the DC universe, but that never came to fruition. Now, as the studio has been making big changes behind the scenes, they're taking a very different approach to Blue Beetle, which adds some diversity to their slate of comic book projects currently in development.

According to a new report, Mexican-born screenwriter Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer has been hired to pen the script for Blue Beetle, which will center on the Jaime Reyes version of the character. Jaime Reyes is the third person in the comics to hold the title. Previously, Dan Garrett and Ted Kord held the mantle, with Reyes being introduced in 2006 in the world of DC Comics. This particular version of the character was created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner and was introduced during the publisher's Infinite Crisis storyline. He later was given a solo series in May of that year.

As for Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, he previously penned a draft of the long-gestating Scarface remake, as well as Sony's upcoming American remake of Miss Bala, which stars Gina Rodriguez and hits theaters next year. He'll be adapting the story of Jaime Reyes, a Mexican-American teenager who gains his powers after discovering a strange scarab on the way home from school, which attaches itself to him, granting him armor, enhanced speed, weapons and wings. Reyes then assumes the mantle of the Blue Beetle, battling foes on Earth and in space. This is significant because it will be the first DC movie to feature a Latino character in the lead role. While movies like Suicide Squad prominently featured Latino characters, they weren't the main focus.

This comes as part of an ever-evolving slate at DC Films. Following the release of Justice League last year, which served as a critical and commercial disappointment, Warner Bros. started to rethink their strategy. Many of the projects that were in development were tabled and the studio has been taking more of a one movie at a time approach, as opposed to building out a massive universe and announcing a giant slate of movies. They're no longer putting the cart before the horse.

Warner Bros. is also working on movies not connected to the same universe as Wonder Woman and the upcoming Aquaman, like the Joker origin movie that stars Joaquin Phoenix as the famed DC villain. While it seems likely that Blue Beetle would at least tangentially be connected to the larger DC universe, it's possible that this could be envisioned as something that stands on its own. Currently, there is no word on who may direct, nor is there any casting information or a timeline on when the movie could begin filming. We'll be sure to keep you posted as any further details on the project are made available. This news was first reported by The Wrap.