It remains unclear where DC’s extended universe will go from here until James Gunn and Peter Safran announce the new slate and the plans they have been brewing since they assumed the posts as co-CEOs. Despite the uncertainty, one project remains the same, and that is Blue Beetle, which continues to gather fan noise ahead of its release because of the anticipation of seeing DCU’s first on-screen Latino hero.
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One of the things that fans are anticipating is witnessing the DCU on-screen debut of award-winning actress Susan Sarandon, who is expected to portray the film’s big bad. In an interview with Collider, the Stepmom star discussed what it’s like to be a comic book villain and other details that are sure to make the movie great.
“My God, to be in a comic book and to be the bad guy, that was great. And I had great outfits, and I wanted to be a little bit more androgynous, but that scared them. So I'm a little bit more gentle, but that was really a fun thing too.” said Sarandon.
She continued, “That young director, [Angel Manuel Soto], was fabulous. And I mean, we're gushing a lot. It sounds phony, but really, I love the enormity of it. His whole family is Mexican, and they're all Mexican actors, and my henchman is Native American. So it was pretty unusual. It's the first superhero movie that stars a Latino, so that's pretty special, and he's great. The kid's great.”
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Sarandon's Victoria Kord initially didn't appear in the comics and was created solely for the movie. The character was first introduced in Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #2. Victoria is the big sister of the second Blue Beetle and Jaime's former mentor, Ted Kord. In the comics, Victoria appears to fall in between the hero and the antihero because it remains uncertain if her presence is to help Jaime or to get the scarab for herself.
The Thelma & Louise star is just one of the seasoned actors who agreed to star in a superhero franchise. For Marvel, Cate Blanchett assumed the villainous role of Hela in Thor: Ragnarok (2017). Others, like Viola Davis, who killed her role as DC's Amanda Waller in both Suicide Squad renditions, Nicole Kidman, who starred as Queen Atlanna in Aquaman (2018), and Angelina Jolie, who joined the heroic ensemble in the Eternals (2021) film, all made an impact and impressed its intended audience.
Blue Beetle follows Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) as the third and most recent iteration of the hero. He’s a Mexican-American high schooler who gets his superhuman abilities from a formidable suit of blue alien armor connected to his spine. Fans consider him a counterpart to Marvel's Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man.
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Blue Beetle arrives in theaters on August 18, 2023.
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