There are a lot of superhero movies to look forward to in the next couple years, especially for DC Comics fans, and one of those highly anticipated films is Blue Beetle from director Angel Manuel Soto and writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer. The film was set to premiere on HBO Max, but Warner Brothers announced on Thursday that the Blue Beetle movie will be skipping the streaming service and going straight to theaters on August 18, 2023.
This is a very surprising move since the studio seemed all about supporting their new streaming service, to the point of including day-and-date premieres for certain titles. However, all signs point to WB believing in this film — and given that this is DC's first-ever Latino superhero getting a movie, this will make that experience that much more special. A lot of fans were critical of WB putting all their Latino-led films on HBO Max, which included the 2022 Batgirl film starring Leslie Grace, and hopefully, this means the announcement of Batgirl going to theaters is right around the corner.
Development on Blue Beetle started in 2018 before officially being announced in February 2021 and, as stated before, was initially going to join an HBO Max DC lineup that included the upcoming Batgirl film. While that superhero film is still on the streaming service as of right now, the now theatrical Blue Beetle is set to follow Mexican-American teenager Jaime Reyes, played by Cobra Kai’s Xolo Maridueña after he gets superpowers when he comes in contact with an alien armor.
The film was teased back in October at DC FanDome, where the cast and crew showed off concept art that alluded to a potential appearance from the second Blue Beetle Ted Kord who is the head of Kord industries in the comics. This image also showed fans a first look at the character’s comic-accurate costume. Reyes is the third person to take up the mantle of Blue Beetle and has been in the role since his introduction in 2006. Since then the character has appeared in various shows like Smallville, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Justice League Action, and video games such as Injustice 2.
As it stands right now, Blue Beetle sits alone at its theatrical release date. The only competition the film has on the schedule for August 2023 is Seth Rogen’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and an untitled Disney live-action movie on August 11. As we are still over a year and a half away from the film, that can change quickly.
Little else is known about the plot at this time, but the film looks to start production in early 2022, and fans of this character should get very excited over WB giving this lesser-known character a chance to shine on the big screen. Blue Beetle releases exclusively in theaters on August 18, 2023 and for all the latest news on the film stick with Collider.