Warner Bros. Discovery has in recent times gone through a sea of change with a host of decisions coming under the spotlight. It is no secret that new CEO David Zaslav has been on the hunt for a new DCEU leader to replace Walter Hamada that would pilot his vision for the studio. While the search for a new supervisor continues, Zaslav has already begun to reposition the direction taken by the studio, namely by axing the HBO Max movie Batgirl. However, one property to survive the studio’s metaphorical axe is Blue Beetle. The film had been initially primed as an HBO Max original film but has since been penned in for a theatrical release by the studio — presumably keeping it off the chopping block. Blue Beetle will be the first Latinx-led DC Comics film with Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña as Jamie Reyes in the titular role.
Speaking on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Susan Sarandon, who stars as the main antagonist in the film has revealed that the film was shot in Spanish, and will feature English subtitles. Sarandon will portray the villainous Victoria Kord, an original character for the film, though fans of the comics should recognize her last name as Ted Kord wore the Blue Beetle suit before Jamie. Sarandon told Fallon:
"What's fabulous about it, it's the first Latinx hero that has his own movie. Even better...because his family is Mexican and all of the actors were Mexican or Mexican-American, and it's in Spanish, so it's subtitled. I'm, of course, the bad guy! I'm the white military industrial complex, so I had a fabulous time. Because there's nothing better than being bad!"
Blue Beetle will be helmed by Angel Manuel Soto with a script written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer. From Sarandon's comments, it sounds like the entire film is in Spanish, which would be amazing as Hollywood seeks to improve diversity and inclusion. With the film having just wrapped earlier this summer, it'll likely still be a while before we see a trailer for Blue Beetle. Stay tuned at Collider for further updates.
Blue Beetle comes to theaters on August 18, 2023. Check out Sarandon's conversation with Fallon down below.