There are a thousand ways to tell a superhero origin story, and between the MCU and DC Universe, we’ve covered a number of versions. But Blue Beetle, releasing August 18, 2023, takes some of the most classic origin stories and gives them a new twist, resulting in a movie that uses the same playbook as the superhero movies of yore but still feels fresh and new.
The film follows Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña), a young man trying to help his big Latino family get by when his search for jobs brings him face to face with a mythical — and possibly robotic — scarab that attacks him Facehugger-style, making him its host and giving him a vastly powerful supersuit.
But there are more powerful forces at hand, and Jaime will have to learn how to deal with his new power and use it for good. Check out the full trailer below:
Blue Beetle looks like a cross between Spider-Man and Iron Man: he’s a down-on-his-luck teenager who gets “bitten” by a strange bug that gives him powers, but the powers are essentially an Iron Man suit complete with a Jarvis-like robot assistant. It’s similar to those stories, but there’s one thing Jaime has that Peter and Tony never had: a big, supportive family. That could make a huge difference in the actual story.
Much like how past superhero movies have influenced Blue Beetle, it looks like the hero’s own legacy will be explored in it as well. Susan Sarandon makes an appearance in what looks to be a villainous role, saying “the scarab chose you, but it belongs to me.”
Sarandon’s character is listed as Victoria Kord, which means she’s probably related to Ted Kord, the name most often associated with Blue Beetle. Ted was Jaime’s predecessor in the comics, but the two never met — Ted was shot in the head by Maxwell Lord as part of the Infinite Crisis event.
It looks like Blue Beetle will keep this element as part of Jaime’s backstory, with Victoria being a relative looking to claim the scarab as her own instead of recognizing the scarab’s power to choose a new host.
Much like many other superhero stories nowadays, it looks like Blue Beetle will be a next-generation story, even though we didn’t get to see the first one.
