Does ‘Blue Beetle’ Have an End-Credits Scene?

It’s not exactly a surprise that Blue Beetle has two end-credits scenes. After all, Cobra Kai‘s Xolo Maridueña DC debut is the latest movie in a long line of high-budget superhero adventures trying to bank on fans’ excitement about future projects. However, the current state of DC’s cinematic universe raises questions about what Blue Beetle can tease about the future and whether the hero will return once James Gunn and Peter Safran reboot the timeline. Without delving into spoilers, the fact Blue Beetle has an end-credits scene and a mid-credits scene should already be greeted with optimism by fans. Furthermore, when we put Blue Beetle’s production history into perspective, it seems unlikely Gunn and Safran will get rid of the character right after his theatrical debut.

Are ‘Blue Beetle’s End-Credits Scenes Worth the Wait?

Blue Beetle’s two end-credits scenes serve very distinct purposes. The first scene happens right after the main credits highlights the movie’s amazing cast and rewards fans with the promise of new adventures involving the new hero. However, although the first end-credits scene teases a sequel for Blue Beetle, there’s nothing too bombastic about it. DC Films is playing safe with Blue Beetle‘s release, especially after Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash bombed at the box office.

The second end-credits scene of Blue Beetle happens after the full credits. This scene has nothing to do with the DC universe and the hero’s future. Instead, it’s a homage to Jaime Reyes’ Latino heritage. Not everyone might recognize the nods the movie does to Mexican culture. Still, the second end-credits scene of Blue Beetle is well worth watching for people wanting to learn more about Mexican icons and may lead fans to discover a TV show they should definitely watch next. Plus, since Blue Beetle is on the short side of superhero movies, with only a 127-minute runtime, fans should not have trouble holding a little longer before running to the bathroom.

How Do ‘Blue Beetle’s End-Credits Scenes Connect to the DCU?

It’s still too soon to know if Jaime Reyes will be a part of Gunn’s and Safran’s new DCU. However, by the looks of it, chances are good. For starters, the first post-credits scene of Blue Beetle does tease a direct sequel, which means Gunn and Safran probably have plans to turn the movie into a franchise if it gets a positive response at the box office. That shouldn’t be a problem, as early reactions crown Blue Beetle as the best DC movie of the past few years. Furthermore, Safran has been attached to Blue Beetle as a producer since before he was promoted to co-head of DC Studios, which means he could help stir the boat in the right direction to give Maridueña’s hero a fair chance to join the new DCU.

It’s also important to underline that Blue Beetle’s director, Ángel Manuel Soto, has confirmed the movie is indeed part of the DCU. That seems to be more than wishful thinking, as during an episode of Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, Gunn himself said that “the first DCU character, for sure, is Blue Beetle.” Even so, the co-head of DC Studios has also said that Superman: Legacy will be “the first full DCU movie,” which only makes things more confusing. Of course, until the current phase of the DC universe is over with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, we can’t really know how Gunn and Safran will reintroduce Jaime Reyes into their new continuity. Still, the end-credits scene shows how much love and dedication the entire crew of Blue Beetle poured into the movie, and that includes the people who sit at DC Studios’ thrones. In an interview with Collider, Ángel Manuel Soto said of the movie’s place in Jaime’s larger DCU story:

“We didn’t want to immediately have him team up with anything. Those team-ups can happen whenever they want to happen, but in Jaime’s story, this is just literally like the beginning, it just connected. Then comes the whole relationship aspect of it, which is like the next version that we wanted to explore. Now that this also is like a prologue of sorts that sets up the stage of who is Jaime, who is his family, his personality, his community, now you don’t have to spend time exploring that. We want to give this movie time to give this introduction properly so that we really know Jaime’s heart fully so that when the other movies come, we can start having explosions every five minutes if you want.”

Lastly, Gunn and Safran’s plan couldn’t be complete without Blue Beetle, thanks to one of the TV shows the creative duo already announced as part of the new DCU. That show is Booster Gold, featuring everyone’s favorite time-traveling narcissist. In DC Comics, Booster Gold is a faithful partner to Blue Beetle, and the two heroes often get in trouble together. Since the new DCU is being inspired by fan-favorite comic book storylines, it wouldn’t be surprising if Jaime Reyes pops up in the Booster Gold series.

Why ‘Blue Beetle’s Take So Long To Get Made?

Warner Bros. began developing Blue Beetle in 2018, but it wasn’t until 2020 that the studio announced the first Latino hero of the DCU would receive a mid-sized budget and an HBO Max release. The movie was part of the company’s strategy to expand the DC brand beyond theatrical releases, keeping fans engaged while spending less money. The canceled Batgirl movie and the Birds of Prey spinoff focused on Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Black Canary were also part of the same initiative.

In December 2021, Blue Beetle was promoted to a theatrical release, which might have saved the project. That’s because, in 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery began a purge of content that led to the complete restructuring of the DC brand. All continuity plans were scrapped in favor of a new vision, as Gunn and Safran took over DC Films with the goal of telling a new interconnected story across film, TV, and even video games. It’s a bold direction that promises to reboot the whole DC continuity in theaters after Warner Bros. releases the final projects that were already on the schedule and tries to make some money with them. One of these movies is Blue Beetle, which entered production before the DC universe overhaul but quickly had to adapt to a new reality. However, contrary to Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Blue Beetle is neither a sequel nor it features a broadly famous hero. So, if the project moved forward amidst the chaos, it’s likely Gunn and Safran do have plans for Jaime Reyes. We sure hope so, as the Latino setting of DC’s latest movie helps to keep things fresh in an overcrowded market.