Blue Beetle is set to come out in a month as the first movie in the new DC Universe. The film’s star, Xolo Maridueña, recently revealed how DC Studios co-chair James Gunn reacted to the movie during a screening.
The pressure is high on Blue Beetle to succeed following the middling reception to Shazam! Fury of the Gods and the box office bomb that was The Flash. Luckily for fans, the DC Universe seems to be off to a great start. Xolo Maridueña, who plays the film’s lead Jaime Reyes, revealed that DC Studios co-chair James Gunn only had a few notes for the story while still loving the project:
“I just remember James Gunn has this really excited energy to him all the time,” Maridueña tells Total Film magazine. “But them coming into this position of the movie already being made, and then being like, ‘All right [mimes rifling through a filing cabinet as if rummaging through the movie], let’s see what we have here’ – it was very rewarding for them to actually respond well to it and enjoy it. They had their notes here and there story-wise, but I think, in capturing the essence of Jaime and the Reyes family, [they] think we did a really great job.”
The trailers make it clear that Blue Beetle is far from lacking heart, with Jaime Reyes’ family being a core part of that essence. While fans may be skeptical of James Gunn’s judgment following The Flash, it seems as though Xolo Maridueña’s freshman outing in the DC Universe will bring the energy that fans have been waiting for.
Who is DC’s Blue Beetle?
Blue Beetle is one of DC’s lesser-known heroes, but he has a dedicated fanbase nonetheless. Created in 1939 by Charles Wojtkowski, Blue Beetle has gone through several iterations over the years. The Jaime Reyes version of the character was introduced during the events of 2006’s Infinite Crisis and quickly became a fan-favorite.
In the pages of DC Comics, Jaime Reyes is a teenager from El Paso, Texas. Jaime discovers a scarab beetle-shaped device that bonds with his body, giving him access to an advanced suit of armor and various powers. He becomes the latest in a long line of Blue Beetles and must learn to balance his newfound abilities with his everyday life.
Angel Manuel Soto is directing Blue Beetle from a screenplay by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer. The full cast of the movie also includes Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, George Lopez, Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carrillo, Damián Alcázar, Raoul Max Trujillo, Susan Sarandon and Harvey Guillén.
Blue Beetle is currently scheduled to hit theaters on August 18, 2023. Stay tuned for the latest news surrounding the film.
