DC Entertainment's Blue Beetle film will not premiere in theaters and will debut on HBO Max instead.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Warner Bros., which owns the comic company and all its characters, will release multiple mid-budget movies, such as Batgirl and Blue Beetle, on the streaming service. Its larger tentpoles — Aquaman 2, The Batman, Black Adam — will remain theatrical exclusives.
Blue Beetle was announced in November 2018, with Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer attached to write the script. Angel Manuel Soto was recently confirmed as director, although no actors are signed on to the project. While there have been three versions of Blue Beetle, this film will focus on the most recent iteration of the character: Jaime Reyes.
"It is an honor to direct Blue Beetle, the first Latino superhero film for DC," Soto said after he was announced as director. "I want to sincerely thank everyone at Warner Bros. and DC for trusting me to bring Jaime Reyes to life. I can’t wait to make history together." Production is expected to begin in the fall.
The announcement regarding Blue Beetle's HBO Max premiere comes as more studios shift movies that were once guaranteed theatrical releases to streaming. Warner Bros. took the most drastic approach, opting to release all its 2021 theatrical releases in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day. While the studio took some heat from analysts and creatives, the strategy has seen overall positive results. Wonder Woman 1984 was marred by critics, but it doubled the amount of subscriber activations in Q4 2020 compared to Q3 2020 and was the most-watched streaming film of 2020. Tom & Jerry, meanwhile, has brought in over $100 million worldwide. Godzilla vs. Kong grossed over $400 million worldwide and led to strong engagement numbers on the streaming service. Finally, both Mortal Kombat and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It found modest success at the box office, with the former outperforming its HBO Max expectations.
Meanwhile, Disney made Soul a Disney+ exclusive and plans to do the same for Pixar's upcoming Luca. Disney also released Raya and the Last Dragon and Cruella in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access on the same day, charging an extra $30 on top of the standard Disney+ monthly subscription rate for those who wanted to watch the films from the comfort of their homes. It plans to do the same for Black Widow and Jungle Cruise.
Directed by Angel Manuel Soto from a script by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, Blue Beetle has yet to receive a release date.
Source: Los Angeles Times