The cast of DC’s Blue Beetle movie is beginning to take shape, with the supporting figures surrounding Xolo Maridueña’s Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle being unveiled pretty regularly. On Friday, the latest players of the upcoming DC film were announced — including some significant names. According to a new report from The Wrap, George Lopez, Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carillo, and Damián Alcázar have all joined the cast of Blue Beetle. All four will be portraying members of Jaime’s family — Lopez (George Lopez) will be playing Uncle Rudy, Barraza (Babel) will portray Nana, Carrillo (Predator) will play Rocio, and Alcázar (Herod’s Law) will be playing Alberto.
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“Initially, my goal with finding the family was to be able to have an authentic group of people, not just as authentic on the Latino side, but authentic on the accents and authentic on the experience overall, it was very important for me to have the elders in the family to be from Mexico,” director Angel Manuel Soto told The Wrap. “And more than just being from Mexico is honoring those amazing beloved actors from Mexico that have paved the way not just in Latin American cinema, but also crossing over to the Anglo Saxon community and Latin American community in the United States.”
“And then you have somebody on the younger side, the new blood that’s coming in, like Belissa and Xolo, they’re Mexican American, and tying them with the guys that came before which have a strong history of being born in Mexico and then coming over to the US,” Soto continued. “Being able to provide a Mexican family, a brown Mexican family, that embraces that level of authenticity, I think this cast allowed us to have all of that.”
The Blue Beetle film will follow Jaime, 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 Bruna Marquezine as Penny, Belissa Escobedo as Jaime’s younger sister, Milagros Reyes, and Harvey Guillen in a currently-unknown role.
Created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hammer, 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? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Blue Beetle is set to be released in theaters on August 18, 2023.
