Blue Beetle Director Says DC Film Has “Full Support” From Warner Bros. Discovery Despite Batgirl Concerns

Warner Bros. has been in the spotlight a lot this year after their latest merger with Discovery. Newly appointed CEO David Zaslav has proven himself as a strictly business kind of boss and has been looking to steer the DC Films ship. Zaslav is currently looking for a Kevin Feige type executive to shepherd the next ten years at DC Films. He’s also been on a tangent canceling a bunch of films like Batgirl and The Wonder Twins. Another film that fans and even the people working on have worried about is Blue Beetle. Blue Beetle is being helmed by Charm City Kings director Angel Manuel Soto, and it seems that although he was worried at first, the good folks at Warner Bros. Discovery have assured him that his film will be released. During a new interview with NPR, Soto revealed that Blue Beetle will not face the same fate as previously canceled films.

“I’m not going to lie. There was concern, anger, fear at first,” Soto revealed in a recent interview. “They told me not to worry, the film has their full support.”

Blue Beetle star Xolo Maridueña was fan-cast before ultimately landing the role. The actor comes from Cobra Kai fame and thinks that the series prepared him for his role as the DC Comics series. Marindueña revealed as much in a recent interview with Variety.

“This is really gonna be a stepping stone in my life,” Maridueña shared in an interview earlier this year. “I’ve gotten the chance to build chemistry with these people over the years on Cobra Kai. To try to recreate that chemistry in a much shorter amount of time is gonna be difficult, but all of these guys are professionals. I know that I’m in the hands of people who are the best at what they do. The opportunity at Cobra Kai has really blessed me; I can do stunts, we can do crazy stuff. Adding this new level of green screen and suits and CGI and all of this will add a whole new crazy level to it that I’m so excited for.” 

Not much is currently known about DC Comics’ Blue Beetle movie as plot details are being kept far away from The Reach. The film will receive a theatrical debut after being originally intended for HBO Max. The Blue Beetle film is expected to follow Jaime Reyes, who in the comics is the third character to take on the role of Blue Beetle following the death of Ted Kord. The cast will also include Susan Sarandon as Victoria Kord, Bruna Marquezine as Penny, Belissa Escobedo, George Lopez, Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carillo, and Damián Alcázar as members of Jaime’s family, and Harvey Guillen in a currently-unknown role.

Created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Hamner, Jaime’s tenure significantly changed the Blue Beetle lore, revealing that the Egyptian scarab that gives the hero powers is actually alien in origin, and provided a sort of extraterrestrial suit of armor. Eventually, Jaime would go on to serve as a member of the Justice League, Justice League International, Teen Titans, Young Justice, and Secret Six.

Blue Beetle is set to be released in theaters on August 18, 2023.

Are you excited to see the film? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @NateBrail up on Twitter!