Batman's Gotham City showed up as an Easter egg in a promotional poster for the DCU's newest upcoming movie, Blue Beetle.
Blue Beetle holds a unique spot in the grand DC landscape, with Xolo Maridueña's hero being the first official character in the new DC Universe while his movie comes in the midst of a major regime change.
It's still unclear exactly where this new story will fit into the ever-changing universe being developed under James Gunn and Peter Safran, although Maridueña himself hopes his hero is integrated into future Justice League adventures.
Batman Easter Egg Spotted in Blue Beetle Promo
Shared by Hollywood Handle on X (formerly known as Twitter), DC Studios released a new promotional poster for the upcoming Blue Beetle movie just over two weeks ahead of its theatrical debut.
The poster shows Xolo Maridueña's hero fully suited up in his Blue Beetle costume, although he has a graduation cap and gown over it as well, while the poster reads "He's the first superhero in his family."
Around his neck is a medal with the words "Gotham Law" imprinted on the top, tying back to Batman's famous home city from the greater DC Universe and indicating that he'll graduate from Gotham City University.
This is far from the first time Gotham has been utilized outside of Batman movies and TV shows.
Fans also saw Gotham City University mentioned in Zack Snyder's Justice League as Ray Fisher's Victor Stone/Cyborg played football there, wearing a letterman's jacket from the school early in the film.
The first Blue Beetle trailer also featured a nod to the Caped Crusader, as George Lopez's Uncle Rudy called Batman a fascist when looking at his nephew's gear.
Additionally, promo material showed a building with "Ace Chemicals" plastered on the side, highlighting the location in the comics where the Joker fell into a vat of chemicals that turned him into a supervillain.
Will Batman Be Seen in Blue Beetle?
Even with a number of Batman references in the upcoming Blue Beetle movie, it's highly unlikely that the Caped Crusader himself will make an appearance considering the state of the DCU.
The hero was last seen via Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck's performances in The Flash before George Clooney made a last-second cameo as Bruce Wayne, with that movie seemingly resetting most of the DC Universe.
Later in the new DCU timeline, Batman will be back in the spotlight with The Brave and the Bold, but there are no signs pointing to any kind of set-up for that film coming in Blue Beetle.
And with other major supervillains taking the spotlight in Blue Beetle, only time will tell when Bruce Wayne and the Bat Family will be back in the forefront.
Blue Beetle will debut in theaters on Friday, August 18.
