It came as a bit of a shock when Warner Bros. Discovery decided to put the Batgirl movie on ice. Fans were immediately concerned that some of the studio’s other DC movies might share the same fate, and that concern was definitely felt by Blue Beetle director Angel Manuel Soto.
Production on the Blue Beetle movie wrapped up earlier this summer, but as we know, just because your film is in the can isn’t a guarantee that it will see the light of day. Angel Manuel Soto told NPR that he was worried Blue Beetle was going to go the way of Batgirl before Warner Bros. Discovery assured him that the movie was safe.
I’m not going to lie. There was concern, anger, fear at first. They told me not to worry, the film has their full support.
Xolo Maridueña stars as Jaime Reyes, a first-generation Mexican-American kid from El Paso, Texas who becomes the Blue Beetle when he’s implanted with a super-powered alien armor. “He’s kind of like a fusion of Green Lantern and Iron Man,” Maridueña said. “He has a scarab from outer space that is attached to his body called Khaji da.” Although the movie deals with superheroes and alien technology, Reyes’ family is front and center in the story. Screenwriter Gareth Dunnet Alcocer said, “What would my mom do if an alien technology burrowed into my spine? She would not think it’s cool. And for the Reyes family, this is terrible. ‘We’re going to get attention from American institutions, from the government, from military, from the police.’“
In addition to Xolo Maridueña, the Blue Beetle movie also stars George Lopez (Beverly Hills Chihuahua), Adriana Barraza (Rambo: Last Blood), Elpidia Carrillo (Predator), Damián Alcázar (Miss Bala), Belissa Escobedo (American Horror Stories), Bruna Marquezine (God Save the King), Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows), and Raoul Max Trujillo (Mayans M.C.). Susan Sarandon (Monarch) also stars as Victoria Kord, the main villain of the film.
Blue Beetle will hit theaters on August 18, 2023.