Posted in: Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: blue beetle, dc studios, DC Universe, warner bros discovery, Xolo Maridueña

Xolo Maridueña On When He Found Out Blue Beetle Was Returning

We got confirmation that Blue Beetle star Xolo Maridueña would be in the new DC Universe, but he has revealed that he knew much sooner.

Heading into 2023 as a DC fan, it was a little weird. On one hand, you were getting four movies in one year. On the other hand, it was four movies coming out after there had been a major leadership shift, and it sounded like there would be some level of reboot on the way. So, how invested in these films should you be as a fan? With how reliant most superhero movies are on leaning into their sequel, sometimes entire films are nothing but set up for things that will never happen. When Shazam! Fury and the Gods and The Flash both critically and commercially stumbled [or, in the case of The Flash, stumbled right off the edge of a cliff], and the fate of those versions of those characters seemed sealed.

However, Blue Beetle was a different animal from the beginning. Unlike the other three DC movies released this year, its links to other DC movies weren't tied up in previous films but rooted in some background details and not much else. So it could easily move from one universe to another without needing to handwave much. While the film did underperform at the box office, the strikes were ongoing at the time, and it did do well critically, and those who saw the film seemed to enjoy it. In September, we got confirmation that Maridueña would return as the Blue Beetle, along with some other versions of DC characters first introduced in earlier films or TV shows. ComicBook.com got the chance to speak to Maridueña, and while we all got confirmation that he would be back in September, he knew much earlier but couldn't say anything because Warner Bros. Discovery didn't want to pay actors and writers livable wages [also known as the strikes].

"Well, that is how it works. You know, once the tweet goes out, then they put that on a piece of paper. James Gunn signs it, and then I'm on board," Maridueña said. "So, no. I mean, it was like, before I had spoken with him prior to that tweet. So, it was… We were in post-production. You know, in the offices next to each other. So, it was like, if it was gonna be anything otherwise, I would have found out before. But, like in a word… again, validating to know that [Walter] Hamada and the Warner Bros. DC team that brought me on and believed in me. In the beginning, it was them who handed it off to Gunn and to Peter [Safran], who also felt the same way? Like, that feels so good. And where it goes in the future? We'll see."

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the final DC movie set to come out this year, and it, unlike Blue Bettle, has strong connections to the previous version of the DC Universe. What that movie has going for it that Shazam! and The Flash didn't is that initial box office for the first film. A billion dollars is hard to ignore, but we'll have to see if Jason Momoa and his fellow costars will join Maridueña and others in the new DC universe.

Blue Beetle: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

Only in Theaters, August 18th, From Warner Bros. Pictures, comes the feature film Blue Beetle, marking the DC Super Hero's first time on the big screen. The film, directed by Angel Manuel Soto, stars Xolo Maridueña in the title role as well as his alter ego, Jaime Reyes. Recent college grad Jaime Reyes returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Super Hero BLUE BEETLE.

Starring alongside Maridueña ("Cobra Kai") are Adriana Barraza ("Rambo: Last Blood," "Thor"), Damían Alcázar ("Narcos," "Narcos: Mexico"), Elpidia Carrillo ("Mayans M.C.," the "Predator" films), Bruna Marquezine ("Maldivas," "God Save the King"), Raoul Max Trujillo (the "Sicario" films, "Mayans M.C."), with Oscar winner Susan Sarandon ("Monarch," "Dead Man Walking"), and George Lopez (the "Rio and "Smurf" franchises). The film also stars Belissa Escobedo ("American Horror Stories," "Hocus Pocus 2") and Harvey Guillén ("What We Do in the Shadows"). Soto ("Charm City Kings," "The Farm") directs from a screenplay by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer ("Miss Bala"), based on characters from DC. John Rickard and Zev Foreman are producing, with Walter Hamada, Galen Vaisman, and Garrett Grant serving as executive producers. A Warner Bros. Pictures Presentation, a Safran Company Production, Blue Beetle, soared into theaters only internationally beginning August 2023 and in North America August 18th, 2023. It was distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.

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