After three consecutive colossal flops in a row this year alone, not to mention the ongoing bad buzz threatening to drown its final installment, the DCEU can’t be put out of its misery soon enough. The downside is that Blue Beetle failed to achieve success at the box office despite its many merits, although the title hero has at least been granted a stay of execution.
That being said, it remains entirely up for debate as to whether or not Jaime Reyes will be awarded a standalone sequel, because not even James Gunn’s impending reboot of the entire superhero sandbox may be enough to convince Warner Bros. that giving the green light to the follow-up to a $100+ million blockbuster that failed to turn a profit is fiscally sound.
Tying with Birds of Prey as the fourth best-reviewed installment in the franchise’s history is a solid enough achievement, and the people who did pay to see Blue Beetle on the big screen were more than happy with what they got, understandable when it’s a solid origin story that runs through the standard formula audiences have come to expect from the debuts of costumed crimefighters, laced with several inspired creative flourishes.
Gunn’s confirmation that Blue Beetle isn’t a DCU movie but the character is the DCU’s first hero might read as confusing to some, but at least its streaming debut has coincided with a surge in popularity. Per FlixPatrol, the film has arrived as one of the most-watched features on iTunes and Google Play, and it’s comforting to know Jaime will be back in one way or another.