Blue Beetle blasts off in first official trailer

DC Studios has a new superhero on the way – Blue Beetle. The character, who first appeared in comics in 1939, is set to make his big-screen debut in a standalone feature film this summer. Besides all the goodies and easter eggs featured in the first official trailer, we’ll break down the history of the Blue Beetle, what we can expect from the film, and how he fits into the DCU in the future.

Who is Blue Beetle?

Blue Beetle has been a mantle worn by several DC Comics characters throughout comics history. The original Blue Beetle, Dan Garret, was a vigilante during the wartime era. He was a police officer who wore bulletproof armor and consumed a science fiction-inspired vitamin supplement to boost his strength and fight crime. The second incarnation of the Blue Beetle was Ted Kord, a brilliant inventor and successful industrialist who the Justice League inspired to become a superhero.

If you watched the trailer closely, you might have spotted the suits from the first two Blue Beetles in the background, hinting that those characters may appear in the film.

The third incarnation of the character, which Blue Beetle will focus on, is Jaime Reyes, a Mexican-American teenager from El Paso, Texas, who will be played by Xolo Maridueña, who you might recognize from Cobra Kai. He encounters ancient, alien technology in the form of a scarab known as Khaji Da. The mysterious scarab attaches to his spine and gives him high-tech armor, granting him superhuman strength, agility, and any weapon he can imagine, such as a buster sword wielded by Final Fantasy VII’s Cloud Strife.

Who’s behind the Blue Beetle movie?

Blue Beetle is directed by Angel Manuel Soto, with a screenplay written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer.

Starring alongside Maridueña is Adriana Barraza as his mother, Damían Alcázar, Elpidia Carrillo, Bruna Marquezine, Raoul Max Trujillo, with Oscar winner Susan Sarandon and George Lopez. The film also stars Belissa Escobedo and Harvey Guillén.

One of the main reasons Blue Beetle has become so popular in recent years is its representation of Latino culture, and it’s clear the cast and crew of this film share a similar heritage to bring that authenticity to the big screen. James Gunn, Co-CEO of DC Studios, described the film on Twitter as “warm, funny, and wonderful.”

The future of Blue Beetle

It’s still unclear if Blue Beetle exists in the currently established DCEU or if he will be one of the new characters in the DCU post-Superman: Legacy, which is expected to reboot the DC Cinematic Universe. The trailer makes a tongue-in-cheek reference to Batman being a fascist, which could refer to Ben Affleck‘s version of the character or to whoever is cast in the leading role of Batman: Brave and the Bold.

Blue Beetle will release just two months after the release of The Flash, also starring Ben Affleck, which looks to establish the DC multiverse and possibly reset the cinematic timeline. After seeing all that The Flash has to offer, it should become clear where Blue Beetle fits into all this, which may be in a separate timeline.

Ultimately, the bottom line will determine the character’s future. If the movie is a financial success (which shouldn’t be too hard given its mid-level budget of around 140 million), then the chances of seeing this franchise continue are all the more likely. So, if you want to see more, support it where possible.

Blue Beetle releases in theaters worldwide on August 18th.