DC Studios has become one of the major players in Hollywood in recent years with box office hits like Joker and Aquaman among the top 50 highest-grossing movies of all time. Additional popular titles include The Flash, Justice League, and The Batman.
On August 18, 2023, Blue Beetle, the latest installment of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), will look to become the next great superhero movie.
Blue Beetle will be the first DC Studios’ film to feature a Latino superhero as the lead and will be directed by Puerto Rican filmmaker Angel Manuel Soto, whose other credits include Charm City Kings and the award-winning short 22 Weeks.
The film will star actor Xolo Maridueña in his major studio debut alongside industry veterans Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, and Susan Sarandon.
Everything You Should Know Before Seeing Blue Beetle
Whether you are a longtime fan of DC Comics or entering the cinematic universe for the first time, here is a bit of background information you may find helpful before seeing Blue Beetle this summer.
Blue Beetle: The Character
Following DC Studios’ reinvention of such beloved comic book characters as Batman, the Joker, Aquaman, the Flash, Suicide Squad, and more, the studio has decided to debut another iconic character on the big screen this year.
Jaime Reyes, known by the superhero moniker Blue Beetle, was developed in 2006 as part of the Infinite Crisis comic storyline developed by artists and writers Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner. This film’s iteration of Blue Beetle draws on a legacy of different versions of the Blue Beetle character. Previous versions of the character developed mystical powers from an Egyptian scarab beetle. This new iteration of the superhero expanded this mythology by bonding Reyes with an alien scarab beetle with which he shares a symbiotic superpowered bond.
In the comic storylines, Reyes/Blue Beetle becomes associated first with the Teen Titans and later with the Justice League.
The character’s most iconic feature is the Blue Beetle suit, a hardened super-suit resembling a scarab’s exoskeleton. Over the course of his development as a character, Reyes goes from having little control over his own powers and the suit’s machinations to being able to deploy his abilities at will.
Background & Plot Details
Blue Beetle will follow Jaime Reyes, played by Maridueña, in the wake of his college graduation. In the film, Reyes travels to his hometown, Palmera City, where he becomes the symbiotic host to the Scarab, an ancient alien technology which equips him with superpowers.
The film is part of the DC Extended Universe, a shared universe which has brought iconic DC characters such as Superman, Batman, the Joker, Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, and more back to the big screen in the 2010s and early 2020s.
Theatrical Release Date
Blue Beetle will premiere in the U.S. on August 18, 2023, in a wide release by Warner Bros. Studios. A streaming release on Max is likely to follow later this year.
Official Blue Beetle Trailer
Before you head to the theater, get a sneak peek by watching the latest official trailer below:
Cast & Crew
Blue Beetle stars Xolo Maridueña in the title role. Other notable cast members include:
- Adriana Barraza as Nana: Jaime’s grandmother
- Damián Alcázar as Alberto Reyes: Jaime’s father
- Raoul Max Trujillo as Conrad Carapax / Indestructible Man
- Susan Sarandon as Victoria Kord: A businesswoman determined to acquire the Scarab
- George Lopez as Rudy: Jaime’s uncle
The film was directed by Angel Manuel Soto, written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, and produced by John Rickard and Zev Foreman.
Runtime
The film has a runtime of 127 minutes, or 2 hours and 7 minutes.
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