DC’s ever-evolving slate of movies is expected to soon include Blue Beetle, a live-action film that will bring the story of Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) to the big screen. While we’re still over a year out from the film’s debut, it seems like fans of the character are absolutely hyped for it, after the first photos and videos from the film’s set debuted to great fanfare earlier this summer. In particular, there’s been a lot of excitement around the film’s practical Blue Beetle costume — and a newly-surfaced set video provides a look at it. The video, which you can check out below, appears to show Jaime in costume suspended on wires above a group of government agents, and trying to talk to them.
“All I can think about is how exciting it’s going to be,” Maridueña previously said of wearing the costume. “It’s going to touch on a lot of things that haven’t been touched on before in superhero movies…. I haven’t had the chance to put on the suit yet or anything like that. Once it happens, it’ll feel real.”
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The Blue Beetle film will follow Jaime, who in the comics is a teenage superhero from El Paso, Texas who becomes fused to an alien scarab and gains superpowers. He 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 Cully 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.
“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.”
Are you excited for DC’s Blue Beetle movie? What do you think of this new set video? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Blue Beetle is set to be released in theaters on August 18, 2023.