As The Flash speeds into theaters this month, it won’t be too long before fans return to cinemas for the debut of another DC hero in the upcoming Blue Beetle. The film centers around its titular hero, played by Xolo Maridueña (Cobra Kai), a character which dates all the way back to the 1930s. Despite the character’s long history, the film marks Blue Beetle’s big screen debut – in fact, bar one episode of Smallville, it will be only the second appearance of the character in live-action at all. Now, ahead of the film’s release in August, a new image has been released showcasing the hero’s formidable firepower.
Behind the Blue Beetle mask, Maridueña stars as Jaime Reyes, a recent college grad longing for direction who is granted powers after bonding with alien technology known as the Scarab. While many characters have taken up the mantle of the Blue Beetle, Reyes was DC‘s first Latino hero, and Maridueña the studio’s first Latino lead. In an interview with Empire, the actor said, “the goal was to create a movie for a young me and a young Angel that said, ‘Hey, man, someone who looks like you or comes from a similar background can be a superhero.” He continued, “the second thing was to open more doors for people like us. As fun as it is to get into this superhero world where everything is [dialled up to] 110 per cent, [it’s] the characters… that I’ve [most] related to.”
Production on the film began back in May 2022 with aim of an HBO Max release, however, after positive reception from test audiences, the movie was bumped up to a theatrical release. This predates the announcement that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be taking over the reins of DC Studios, following years of critical and commercial misfires. Where does Blue Beetle fit into this? Well, while the pair have been clear regarding their intention to take the studio in a new direction, it remains yet to be seen how much of the previous DC universe will be folded into the new one; the Gal Gadot-led Wonder Woman 3 may have been canceled, but Gunn insisted that the star hadn’t been “booted” from the franchise, leading to speculation from fans that she may remain in place as the character. Furthermore, considering that Blue Beetle didn’t share the same misfortune as the ill-fated, canceled Batgirl movie, one may suggest this indicates the studio has more faith in the project, and that the character may stick around for future movies.
Xolo Maridueña Thinks Blue Beetle‘s Future is Bright
One person who is certainly hoping to see the character return is Maridueña himself, who revealed that his sights are set on a franchise. The star said, “if we get one movie or a trilogy and fucking fold this into the Justice League shit, we’re ready for the whole nine,” adding, “for me and Angel [Manuel Soto, the film’s director] and the team, we kicked ass with this movie. It just depends on numbers.”
Blue Beetle will be released into theaters on August 18.
via Collider