An origin story 5 years in the making, Puerto Rican filmmaker Ángel Manuel Soto is finally seeing his vision of the Mexican-American superhero Blue Beetle brought to life in DC Studios’ Blue Beetle.

Starring Xolo Maridueña in the lead role, the film tells of recent college graduate Jaime Reyes and his return home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armour capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero BLUE BEETLE.

Ahead of the film’s release in Australia, Peter Gray spoke with Soto about the pride in representing Latino culture on screen, infusing the film with a strong female energy, and celebrating the nostalgic feeling of the movies he grew up with.