Is it the last DCEU movie, the first new DC Universe movie, or a secret, third thing? We don’t know and every time we try to find out weirdos on Twitter start screaming about Zack Snyder, but we can tell you that Blue Beetle is in cinemas from August 18.
Directed by Angel Manuel Soto and based, obviously enough, on the titular DC comics character, Blue Beetle tells us the tale of young Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña of Cobra Kai), freshly graduated from college and eager to plough into young adulthood, only to have his modest plans scuppered when he becomes the host of the Scarab, an alien techno-organic doohickey that gives him a suit of powerful exo-armour. Naturally, that means that Jaime must become the superhero Blue Beetle, possibly learning some lessons about great power and great responsibility along the way.
Co-starring Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, Elpidia Carrillo, Bruna Marquezine, Raoul Max Trujillo, George Lopez, and none other than Susan Sarandon as evil CEO Victoria Kord, who wants the power of the Scarab for herself, Blue Beetle was originally earmarked for a streaming debut, before the good folks at Warner Bros. recognised its theatrical potential. Pretty much the opposite of what happened with Batgirl, when you think about it.
As comics fans know, our man Jamie is the third character to wear the mantle of the Blue Beetle, who debuted all the way back in 1939. We’re big fans of the second Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, a kind of goofy take on Batman, and given Sarandon’s villain shares a surname with him here, hopefully he’ll be getting a look-in.
But hey—this looks like a lot of fun. For sure, the Spider-Man parallels are obvious, but Maridueña is charming as hell, the costume looks great, and some relatively low-stakes cape action might be a welcome respite from the universe-shaking sturm und drang superhero flicks tend to be mired in. You in?
