Blue Beetle could be a long-shot film for DC, considering how things have turned with Black Adam, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, and The Flash. What chance does a movie with no huge stars and centering on a B-list character have? Well, while the odds may be long, don’t tell that to director Angel Manuel Soto, who is out there pumping up his movie like a champ. Considering the SAG strike keeps the actors from doing press, Soto is putting in the work. And he’s got big plans for the character that could keep Blue Beetle on screens for a long time.
The good news is that Blue Beetle WILL be part of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU. Even better, Soto looks at this as the first in a planned trilogy centering on Jamie Reyes, played by star Xolo Maridueña.
“Of course, we can’t put everything in one movie, and that’s why this is the first act of a bigger saga,” said Soto to ThePlaylist. “There’s so much more to be said that I’m really looking forward to saying. We wanted to tell the movie in a way that felt like, what if Latin cinema embraced a superhero film? We spend time with Jamie, with his family; we know what’s at stake and how they behave. The Scarab is an intruder, so when it attaches to him and all hell breaks loose, the stakes are more personal, and you care more.”
Soto continues, “‘Blue Beetle’ [the first film] is Jamie’s story. We wanted to focus on him and his family. By the end of the movie, there will be questions about the scarab, and I hope to answer them. For the next film, I hope to tell the whole story of what happened to the scarab, where he comes from, why he was sent, and hopefully in the end, who they have to defeat.”
Early projections aren’t great, but since Blue Beetle is a bit lower in cost than the biggest DC movies, it has a better shot of over-performing. Focusing on the character’s Latino heritage is a smart move, as Jamie Reyes is the first Latino superhero lead ever on the big screen. If the target audience comes out to show their support, Blue Beetle could be huge.
Meanwhile, Soto also talked about his pitch for an origin movie for Bane, the powerhouse villain who infamously shattered Batman’s back, last seen on the big screen in The Dark Knight Rises. Soto compared Bane’s introduction to the misrepresentation Latin actors have faced in Hollywood movies.
“As far as Bane goes, it feels like he’s very misunderstood. We are used to being introduced to the world in movies as villains. It’s almost a given that we’re born that way. When we talk about the history of Latin America, nobody dares to question what happened before.”
It turns out that some of the ideas Soto had for Bane were instead incorporated into the Blue Beetle villain Carapax, played by Raoul Trujillo.
“Much like Carapax, Bane’s a product of his environment,” said Soto. “He is, in his own right, a hero. That’s how I pitched it. DC appreciated it, but they called me in because they wanted ‘Blue Beetle.’ While I was working on Carapax, I thought, I don’t know if I’ll ever make a Bane movie. Let me take what I loved about Bane, about the backstory that I wanted to explore, and give it to Carapax. It’s the history of the Caribbean, the Antilles, a history that’s been brushed off. I think that what Bane represents is the history of interventionism in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
I’m a huge fan of Soto following his debut film, Charm City Kings. It pisses me off to learn it’s no longer on the MAX streaming platform, removed way too soon like so many other titles. If Blue Beetle is half as good, we’re in for a real treat. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to speak with him about this film before it opens on August 18th. Fingers crossed.