One of DC Comics’ most important young superheroes will finally make his cinematic debut on Aug. 18 in his titular feature film. Skipping over the first two incarnations (Dan Garret and Ted Kord), DC’s Blue Beetle will depict the journey of the third Beetle Jaime Reyes, a normal Latino teenager “who grew up watching superhero movies, anime, and reading comics” until he discovers that the original Blue Beetle scarab morphs into a battle suit.
Blue Beetle’s character has faced numerous enemies in DC Comics, but the feature film adaptation will reportedly tackle his arc with Carapax the Indestructible Man, and the CEO of Kord Industries, Victoria Kord. Though in the original comics, Carapax was the enemy of the second Blue Beetle Ted Kord, star Xolo Maridueña is “excited for people to kind of see how that story unfolds.”
Prior to the movie’s premiere, Maridueña recently spoke with ComicBook about his role in the movie, the plot lines, and—most importantly—the antagonists. Carapax and Victoria both make fascinating contributions to the superhero tapestry, and Maridueña hinted that their journeys may be unexpected.
“I want to keep the spoilers free when it comes to Carapax and Susan because I really am so excited for people to experience that for the first time on screen. But what I will say is that I think it will surprise people. When it comes to approaching villains… I personally like a villain that you just hate like that. You’re just like, ‘Oh!’, you know?”
By the look of it, our Blue Beetle is extremely enthusiastic about the face-off fans will witness in the film. He made it clear that the movie is about more than just relaying Jaime’s tale, adding that “even our strongest villains have moments and have the meaning behind them.” In a bid to dispel any uncertainties that may linger, he also reassured that there will be no lack of action in the film, saying “the stunt team went above and beyond.”
Maridueña also touched upon his character Jaime, and highlighted “the most important part of this Jaime character is the family aspect of it.” He further stated his favorite thing about the character, after singing praises of Jaime’s younger sister Milagro Reyes, played by Belissa Escobedo.
“One of my favorite things about this character is that… it really is as far as the imagination can go for Jaime, what this suit can do. And Jaime is a kid who grew up watching these superhero movies and watching anime and reading comics. So I’m just so ready for people to see all the different ways that Carapaxx and Blue Beetle are going to be duking it out. It’s going to be fantastic.”
For a little introduction to the two renowned villains, Victoria Kord, played by Susan Sarandon, is Ted’s older sister. She seeks to gather and confine all Scarabs, from Blue Beetles to Yellow Beetles to Green Beetles, and study them in order to use her findings to benefit mankind. Carapax, on the other hand, is a veteran of the Guatemalan conflict who was turned into a cyborg by Kord Industries and is now able to unleash nearly indestructible weaponry at will. He will be portrayed by actor Raoul Max Trujillo and is Victoria Kord’s right-hand man.
Catch Blue Beetle exclusively in theaters on Aug. 18, 2023.