Every superhero has an origin story, and reluctant heroes are no different. In the latest trailer for Blue Beetle, the titular character not only takes first flight but also brings players back to the events that led him to be chosen by the Scarab.
The three-minute long video shows recent college graduate Jaime Reyes as he comes to terms with his new powers, bestowed by the Scarab — a piece of alien biotechnology — and suit. Later, he battles Susan Sarandon’s villanious character Victoria Kord and Raoul Max Trujillo’s secondary villain, Carapax the Indestructible Man, with the former’s intentions getting more elaboration here.
There’s plenty of family to go around, too. Reyes’ close-knit family has its fair share of shenanigans, including an amusing shot of his grandmother holding up an enormous alien minigun while smirking into the camera.
The mythos of Blue Beetle can be traced back to the Golden Age of comics and while there have been multiple iterations of the superhero, this will mark his first live-action appearance. However, there’s a lot riding on the character’s debut — the underwhelming box office performance of Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and The Flash means the upcoming DC flick needs to garner some favour from fans and critics alike.
Blue Beetle is directed by Angel Manuel Soto, and stars Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle, Adriana Barraza as Jaime’s grandmother Nana, Damián Alcázar as Jaime’s father Alberto Reyes, Elpidia Carrillo as Jaime’s mother Rocio Reyes, Bruna Marquezine as Jaime’s love interest Jenny Kord, Trujillo as Conrad Carapax, Sarandon as Victoria Kord, George Lopez as Rudy, Jaime’s uncle, and Becky G as the Scarab Kahji-Da.
It will hit theatres on 18 August, and is one of the final DC films before James Gunn kicks off the first chapter of the new DC Universe (DCU), titled Gods and Monsters, in 2025. The movie is described as an “unapologetically Latino” take on the superhero genre, and is set to usher Blue Beetle as the first real DCU character.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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