In the space of a decade and a half, audiences will see the role of Batman and/or Bruce Wayne played in live-action by Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, Robert Pattinson, Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Kevin Conroy, David Mazouz, and Iain Glen to name but a small few, so DC is hardly shy when it comes to bringing in new actors to play a familiar face.
In that same period of time, how many stars have brought Wolverine to life? What about Iron Man? Thor? Deadpool? Yep, it’s just one, showing the discrepancy in longevity and consistency between Marvel and DC. And yet, Blue Beetle star Xolo Maridueña already has his eyes on a streak that could match the superhero genre’s longest ever, admitting to Entertainment Weekly that “I want to do 12 more years,” before diving into further detail about what he wants the future to hold under James Gunn and Peter Safran.
“I’m excited to see what they have in mind and how Blue Beetle and the rest of his family might loop into the rest. But my heart is already so fulfilled with this movie. If we do 20 of these movies and 40 cameos or if it’s just this one, what’s most exciting to me is the opportunity for people to see it and have little kids everywhere saying, “Oh my gosh, this guy looks like me. I can be a hero, too.”
The good news is that Maridueña has been confirmed as a holdover, but given DC’s reputation, there’s a long way to go before we can even consider the idea of him still playing Blue Beetle a dozen years from now.