Highlights
- Director Angel Manuel Soto faces a solo press tour for Blue Beetle due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, but he is still dedicated to representing the film and its protagonists, the Reyes family.
- Blue Beetle's release in theaters marks the end of a long battle with studios, as the project was initially intended for streaming before being reverted back to a theatrical release.
- Despite obstacles and the lack of cast promotion, DC Studios is committed to the character's future in the DC Universe, according to director Angel Manuel Soto and DC Studios CEO Peter Safran.
As DC's upcoming film Blue Beetle prepares to hit theaters, the project faces yet another obstacle: a solo press tour from director Angel Manuel Soto due to the current SAG-AFTRA strike. While the filmmaker is lacking cast members' company as he sets to promote the film, this still has not stopped him from representing the Reyes family— the protagonists of the film— or DC Studios from revealing where they are headed next.
This week's theatrical release of DC's Blue Beetle is a culmination of years' long battles with studios. Blue Beetle was initially intended as an HBO Max exclusive release. However, executives at Warner Bros. decided in December 2021 to revert the film to a theatrical release, months before their merger with Discovery. Almost two years later, as the film is about to hit theaters, its debut coincides with the SAG-AFTRA strike in Hollywood, which prevents actors from doing much-needed promotion for their films. But despite these obstacles, DC is not yet ready to let go of the character.
In a recent Instagram post, James Gunn posed with DC Studios CEO Peter Safran at a Blue Beetle screening, where he revealed the superhero would be an integral and "amazing part of the DCU moving forward." In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, director Angel Manuel Soto revealed his relief at knowing Jaime Reyes and his family have a future at the DC Universe. "We survived the regime changes throughout this whole process [production]" Soto says, "and that was a testament to the hard work that everybody put into it."
While Gunn's head did not elaborate on the character's future, it is well known DC is currently going through a period of leadership and financial shifts, which have affected the Universe's storylines and focus, like the canceling or delay of previously established projects, such as the Black Adam sequel. Nonetheless, Angel Manuel Soto continued by explaining the Blue Beetle's characters' future involvement in the Universe is a product of an existing faith in them, not only from him but from viewers and DC executives alike. At the same time, he admits that it is a shame that the film's ensemble cannot promote their work, but the strike is "a necessary thing" for the industry.
Blue Beetle is releasing in theaters on August 18, and it follows Jaime Reyes (played by Xolo Maridueña) as an ancient relic of alien biotechnology chooses him to be its symbiotic host, giving him a suit of armor with unpredictable superpowers. The film is also the first Latino-led superhero live-action project, overcoming the lack of Latino representation spanning decades in the film industry.
Blue Beetle is hitting theaters on August 18, 2023.