‘Blue Beetle’ Gets a New Poster!! Check It Out!!

The release of DC‘s newest film Blue Beetle is fast approaching, as the new hero prepares to fly into theaters this Friday, August 18. Now, a new poster for the movie sees Xolo Maridueña unmasked, as he stars as directionless college graduate-turned-costumed hero Jamie Reyes. The upcoming movie marks the big screen debut of the classic DC character, as well as only the second live action appearance outside a brief showing in one episode of Smallville.

The upcoming film will follow Jamie’s journey, as he becomes bonded with an alien technology called the Scarab. First debuting back in the 1930s, there have been multiple iterations of the Blue Beetle character, however Reyes made history as the comic book company’s first Latino superhero. In a continuation of that legacy, Reyes was the iteration selected for the character’s cinematic debut, in the first Latino-led superhero movie.

Audiences are Loving Blue Beetle

This gives the movie a lot to live up to, but first reactions to early screenings call it a success, and a “love letter to Latino culture.” The film features a predominantly Latino cast, as Maridueña is joined by Bruna Marquezine, Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carrillo, George Lopez, Raoul Max Trujillo, Damián Alcázar and Belissa Escobedo.

Blue Beetle‘s connection to the larger DC shared cinematic universe, however, remains unclear; while James Gunn previously referred to the character as the “first” DCU character, the film was not featured on the slate for the newly revamped franchise – DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters officially begins with the upcoming Superman: Legacy. Furthermore, in an interview with Total Film magazine, director Angel Manuel Soto clarified new studio heads Gunn and Peter Safran‘s involvement with the film was “not much.” He explained “The studio always, generally, has their hands on it. As far as the essence of the story, [Gunn and Safran] liked what we were doing and they respected the vision and what we were trying to do with the film,” adding that “They really did appreciate the fresh take, the nostalgic factor of how we start the film by taking the audience to see the family and fall in love with them for a prologue-of-sorts.”