Blue Beetle trailer drops thrilling first look at DC's Latino-led superhero movie
Welcome to a new era of Beetle mania.
DC Studios has shared the trailer for the upcoming Blue Beetle movie, unveiling the first look at Xolo Maridueña's insectoid superhero. The 21-year-old Cobra Kai star debuts as teenager Jaime Reyes, making this film the first major superhero movie to center on a Latino hero.
Blue Beetle has a long history in DC Comics, and since the name was first introduced in 1939, three different characters have taken up the mantle. The movie focuses on the third and most recent Beetle: Jaime, a Mexican-American teenager living in Palmera City.
The trailer introduces Jaime as an aimless college grad, who's close with his family but a bit directionless. When he accidentally gains possession of an ancient alien artifact called the Scarab, he forms a symbiotic relationship with it that grants him incredible powers.
Warner Bros. Pictures Xolo Maridueña stars as the titular Blue Beetle in DC's superhero movie
Maridueña and director Angel Manuel Soto recently spoke to reporters at a trailer launch event, where they both opened up about the joy and responsibility of making DC's first Latino-led superhero movie. "We wanted to keep it as authentic as possible — not Hallmark cookie-cutter Latinos," Soto told press. "We wanted [the audience to] feel like, 'Yeah, that's my uncle,' or 'I can totally relate to that.'"
The film's predominantly Latino cast includes Adriana Barraza as Jaime's grandmother, Damían Alcázar as his father, Elpidia Carrillo as his mother, Belissa Escobedo as Jaime's sister Milagro, Harvey Guillén as Dr. Sanchez, Bruna Marquezine as Jenny Kord, Raoul Max Trujillo as Carapax, and George Lopez as Jaime's Uncle Rudy. (Lopez gets the biggest laugh in the trailer, as Jaime compares himself to Batman. Uncle Rudy grumpily replies, "Batman's a fascist.")
Susan Sarandon also makes her superhero movie debut as the villainous Victoria Kord, who isn't particularly thrilled to learn that Jaime has possession of the mysterious Scarab.
Maridueña built his résumé starring on TV shows like Cobra Kai and Parenthood, but Blue Beetle is his first-ever film. He told reporters that making his debut as Jaime was a "humbling experience," and he's particularly proud of how the movie doesn't just center on Jaime but his family, too.
"It's kind of funny: We see some of these other superheroes who are able to hide the fact that they're a superhero from their family," Maridueña explained. "But as you just saw in the trailer, his family is right there on that first transformation. So good luck keeping that a secret! Coming through this journey together is something that we haven't seen before in superhero movies, and that really is the beating heart of this movie. It transcends ethnicity and it transcends color of skin — because that's something we can all relate to."
Warner Bros. Pictures DC's Blue Beetle makes his debut
Blue Beetle was originally planned for HBO Max, before Warner Bros. decided to shift to a theatrical release. It's also one of the first releases since James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as co-chairs of DC Studios. Maridueña and Soto were both cautious not to spill any spoilers about how Jaime might fit into the studio's future plans, but they both highlighted how much fun they had establishing Palmera City as a fresh new corner of the DC universe.
"The vision was to have Blue Beetle be on the same level as someone like a Superman or a Batman, who have Gotham or Metropolis, these cities that are the beating hearts of the comics," Maridueña explained. "To create a world for Jaime and create a world where he feels he fits was really such a humbling and honoring experience."
Blue Beetle is in theaters Aug. 18. Watch the trailer above.
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