Ángel Manuel Soto, who called the shots on Warner Bros.’ last superhero film to be finished prior to its DC Films restructuring, Blue Beetle, has signed on to direct two superhero movie veterans for his next project.
The Hollywood Reporter says Soto will be behind the camera for The Wrecking Crew, the MGM buddy comedy starring Aquaman veteran Jason Momoa and Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Dave Bautista.
Incidentally, while the plot is still under wraps, the project is a bit of manifesting from Bautista, who tweeted in August 2021, “Just going to throw this out into the atmosphere and see what happens. Here we go… Me and Momoa in a Lethal Weapon‘ type buddy cop movie directed by David Leitch. Ok! There it is. Now we wait.”
Leitch is the stuntman-turned-director behind Bullet Train and the first John Wick film, among others.
Soto’s Blue Beetle enjoyed a decent Critics Score of 77% and an impressive Audience Score of 92% on the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, though it didn’t have a stellar opening weekend at the box office. Its $24.5 million take was enough to knock Barbie from the number one position after a month at the top — but not by much.
While DC Films co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran have said its star, Xolo Maridueña, will live on in their newly organized cinematic universe, Blue Beetle was the third superhero misfire in a row for Warner Bros. this year, following Shazam: Fury of the Gods and The Flash.
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