Blue Beetle is currently a DC project that’s flying under the radar, but it has plenty of potential as it’ll be the first DC superhero movie starring a Latino character, as it’s got their cast together with a big name to joining the film.
As The Wrap has revealed, Academy Award nominee Sharon Stone is in talks to become the villain Victoria Kord and will be joined by Raoul Max Trujillo from Mayans M.C. playing Carapax the Indestructible Man.
As for Stone’s character, this is a new character created solely for the movie, and with the Kord surname, she’s clearly related to the second Blue Beetle, Ted Kord.
As Cobra Kai’s breakout Xolo Maridueña will be playing the third Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes (perfect casting) after he came into possession of the Blue Beetle Scarab, an artefact that gave Dan Garrett, the original Blue Beetle, his powers.
Jaime discovered the Scarab, which is believed to have been destroyed by Ted, on the way home from school with Paco and Brenda, half-buried in a disused lot. Curious by what it is, Jaime took it home. That night, the Scarab came alive and grafted itself to Jaime’s spine giving him an extraterrestrial armoured suit with the ability to provide him with speed and strength and defend itself against threats.
I’m guessing this will be the block of the film as he also gets into trouble with a local gang of magical metahumans called the Posse.
Meanwhile, the film will move Carapax from being a Garrett villain to Reyes makes scenes as the character is an archaeologist and I’m guessing will be in the hunt for the Scarab.
The DC film will be directed by Angel Manuel Soto, who helmed Charm City Kings, with the screenplay from Mexican writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, who has written a Scarface remake for Universal and Sony’s Miss Bala.
Elsewhere, Stone and Trujillo will be joining a cast that includes Brazilian actress Bruna Marquezine, who will be playing the female lead and love interest, Penny. This will be the launch of her Hollywood career because she has the potential to become a massive star.
Check out this lovely moment where Marquezine learns she has secured the role.
Belissa Escobedo will be playing Milagros Reyes, the younger sister of Jaime Reyes and Harvey Guillen, best known for being in What We Do In The Shadows and Reacher, is in an unrevealed role.
The Wrap has been on top of the project from the star announcing the news.
Moreover, the website revealed the rest of the Reyes family will see George Lopez playing Uncle Rudy, Academy Award nominee Adriana Barraza as Nana, Elpidia Carrillo will be Rocio, and Damián Alcázar is playing Alberto.
In an interview with the site, Soto stated it was always his intention to have a multigenerational Reyes family authentic to Mexican and Mexican-American.
“Initially, my goal with finding the family was to be able to have an authentic group of people, not just as authentic on the Latino side, but authentic on the accents and authentic on the experience overall, it was very important for me to have the elders in the family to be from Mexico,” Soto told The Wrap.
He adds, “more than just being from Mexico is honouring those amazing beloved actors from Mexico that have paved the way not just in Latin American cinema, but also crossing over to the Anglo-Saxon community and Latin American community in the United States.”
“Then you have somebody on the younger side, the new blood that’s coming in, like Belissa and Xolo, they’re Mexican American, and tying them with the guys that came before which have a strong history of being born in Mexico and then coming over to the US. Being able to provide a Mexican family, a brown Mexican family, that embraces that level of authenticity, I think this cast allowed us to have all of that,” said Soto.
I am looking forward to this film because having seen the character being well used in Young Justice. It will be fun to see the relationship between the Scarab and Jaime because during the animated series, you see the alien tech jumping to protect mode and sometimes against Reyes’s wishes.
The Bear Cave 