‘Blue Beetle’ Director Hints Character Will Reappear In Previously Announced Booster Gold Show
John F. Trent
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Blue Beetle director Ángel Manuel Soto recently hinted that Jaime Reyes might show up again in the previously announced Booster Gold TV series.
Xolo Maridueña as Blue Beetle in Blue Beetle (2023), DC Studios
In an interview with ScreenRant following the box office failure of Blue Beetle, Soto was asked if he had discussions with DC Studios CEO James Gunn about the future of Blue Beetle.
In response to the question, Soto stated, “Yeah, Yeah. We have had conversations about it. And that’s where he mentioned to me the Booster Gold show that’s going to come out.”
“Now, where does it? How is it going to play out? We haven’t talked about that,” he admitted. “But we both have talked about, you know, our interest in continuing Jaime’s story and finding a way for that story to be a part of this new universe.”
Soto then stated, “And although he had already said that Blue Beetle is the first hero of his universe, it was very reassuring to know that Xolo Maridueña is going to still play Blue Beetle, which means that what we were able to enjoy and absorb in this movie serves as a foundation to the character of Jaime as he embarks into this new world.”
Xolo Maridueña as Blue Beetle in Blue Beetle (2023), DC Studios
Gunn announced the Booster Gold series at the end of January saying, “Booster Gold is one of comics’ really popular cult heroes. He’s a fascinating guy. He’s a loser from the future, who uses future technology to come back to present day and become a superhero so people will love him.”
“It’s basically the superhero story of imposter story on an HBO Max series,” he added.
Earlier in that same announcement regarding the DC Universe slate, Gunn noted that the Blue Beetle character would be part of the DCU saying, “And then to move into Blue Beetle, a fantastic film about a kid who is a marvelous part of the DCU.”
He recently confirmed that Maridueña would reprise the role of Jaime Reyes in the DCU writing on Threads, “Xolo Maridueña will continue playing Blue Beetle in the DCU, as Viola Davis will Amanda Waller, and John Cena will Peacemaker.”
James Gunn confirms castings via Threads
Soto would also share what he hopes Hollywood money men will take away from Blue Beetle so that more Latino superhero stories can be told.
He said, “It’s okay to let other cultures be their own authentic self especially when other cultures are not monolith. There’s so many more stories to tell within Latino communities and also with other communities from other cultures.”
“And for me it’s always been a thing about when you let us tell our stories authentically without fear of the unknown, of the other, sometimes we can find way more connection than we would if society keeps trying to force what the Latino should be,” he said.
Xolo Maridueña as Blue Beetle in Blue Beetle (2023), DC Studios
He continued, “And same goes with other cultures. I think by embracing who we authentically are we’re able to connect with more people than it would if we try to be fake about it. So hopefully not only on the superhero genre and other stories. You know, the diversity in stories is one of the things that I like the most about cinema. World cinema was the one thing that made me fall in love with storytelling. And finding how I can connect with stories from Korea, stories from the Middle East, with stories from England.
“I’m from Puerto Rico and I connected with stories from the U.S.,” he went on. “I think that we can all connect with our own authentic self. And I think by opening that door and what they consider I risk, I consider obvious. I don’t think it’s a risk at all to embrace who you truly are and let communities tell the story story the way they should tell the stories because we will connect with them.”
The Reyes family in Blue Beetle (2023), DC Studios
Blue Beetle bombed at the box office only grossing $128.5 million despite it reportedly having a production budget anywhere between $105 million and $125 million.
The box office failure came after Soto and his DC team included a clip of George Lopez’s character Uncle Rudy describing Batman as a fascist and then Soto mocking critics of the decision to include this clip.
It was then discovered that Soto wished for the assassination of President Donald Trump and believes that “Puerto Rico is a slave colony of the USA.”
Jamie Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) breaks his fall in Blue Beetle (2023), DC Studios
The film would also be heavily marketed with identity politics with Soto confirming the film featured an allegory for illegal immigration. Actress Susan Sarandon also described her character as the “white military industrial complex” bad guy.
The film’s star Xolo Maridueña also claimed that the goal of the film was to people that Hispanics can be superheroes.
Xolo Maridueña as Blue Beetle in Blue Beetle (2023), DC Studios
What do you make of Soto’s recent comments about the film and the character’s future?
NEXT: Warner Bros. Identity Politics Marketing For ‘Blue Beetle’ Fails, Film Fares Worse Than Projections
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