Warner Bros. and DC's upcoming Blue Beetle film is set to debut in theaters in the summer of 2023.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Blue Beetle movie is no longer being planned as an HBO Max exclusive. It is now eyeing a theatrical premiere with a release date of Aug. 18, 2023. Directed by Angel Manuel Soto from a screenplay by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, Blue Beetle stars Xolo Maridueña (Cobra Kai) as main protagonist Jaime Reyes. It will be the first DC film to focus on a Latino superhero.
Warner Bros. has set release dates for a number of other films as well. The Last Train is slated to release in theaters on April 21, 2023, followed by the animated Wizard of Oz spinoff film Toto on Feb. 2, 2024. As far as streaming is concerned, KIMI is set to debut on HBO Max on Feb. 10, 2022, followed by Moonshot on March 24, 2022.
Created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers and Cully Hamner, the character of Jaime Reyes first appeared in 2005's Infinite Crisis #3 before officially taking up the mantle of Blue Beetle -- previously carried by Dan Garrett and Ted Kord -- a couple months later in 2006's Infinite Crisis #5. Hailing the west Texas town of El Paso, Jaime is a teenager who came into contact with the mystical scarab that gave Dan Garrett his powers in the first place. Jaime is perhaps best known for his time as a member of the Teen Titans.
Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle was previously portrayed in live-action by Jaren Brandt Bartlett in the tenth and final season of Smallville. The character has also appeared in such animated series as Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Young Justice, as well as in such animated films as Justice League vs. Teen Titans and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract.
Soto was hired to direct Warner Bros.' planned live-action Blue Beetle film earlier this year. Maridueña was cast in the lead role several months later. In the interim, it came to light that Blue Beetle would not release in theaters, but would instead be an HBO Max-exclusive movie set within the DC Extended Universe, not unlike the upcoming Batgirl movie. With the news that Blue Beetle is coming to theaters after all, however, the Maridueña-led superhero flick now joins the DCEU's theatrical slate alongside the likes of Black Adam, The Flash, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Blue Beetle is slated to premiere in theaters on Aug. 18, 2023.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter