Blue Beetle director Angel Manuel Soto recently offered new insight into his unsuccessful pitch for a Bane movie set within The Batman director Matt Reeves’ Batverse.
Soto discussed the unrealized project in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I got a call from Galen Vaisman, one of the executives at DC, and for a general meeting, you have to be prepared if they ask you what you want to do,” he said. “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,” Soto continued. “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 Galen 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.” While Soto ultimately didn’t get the chance to play around in Reeves’ Bat-sandbox, Blue Beetle nevertheless includes at least one reference to Batman: a controversial joke that sees the Dark Knight declared a fascist. Star Raoul Max Trujillo defended the gag in a recent interview, calling it “very funny” and arguing that it was simply a nod to Batman’s status as part of the DC Universe’s “elite.”
Why Angel Manuel Soto Nearly Didn’t Direct Blue Beetle
Soto followed up his Batverse pitch anecdote by admitting he initially had reservations about directing Blue Beetle. The filmmaker explained that he was wary of helming a film that could potentially perpetuate Hollywood’s history of “misrepresenting” Latin American culture, however, Vaisman quickly assuaged his fears by revealing that Blue Beetle‘s screenwriter, Gareth Dunnet-Alcoce, was from Queretaro, Mexico. Soto added that he was impressed by the “honest” portrayal of the Latino community in Dunnet-Alcoce’s screenplay and became “convinced that this movie had to happen.”
The Puerto Rican director is equally adamant that there’s a place for Blue Beetle‘s characters in DCU going forward. Soto said as much to The Hollywood Reporter, expressing “relief” that DC Studios co-chair and co-CEO James Gunn has already publicly earmarked Blue Beetle and his supporting cast for future DCU projects.
Blue Beetle is in cinemas now.
Source: THR