SUPER BUG

IN A CHANGING DC UNIVERSE, A NEW CHARACTER WITH TONS OF INSECT APPEAL IS ABOUT TO MAKE HIS DEBUT. TOTAL FILM  GETS THE SCOOP FROM THE TEAM BEHIND BLUE BEETLE, THE FIRST STANDALONE SUPERHERO MOVIE WITH A LATINO LEAD, AS THEY PREPARE TO DROP A BUG IN THE SYSTEM

- KIM TAYLOR-FOSTER

What do you know about Blue Beetle? Unless you’re a hardcore DC Comics fan, probably not much. Even Xolo Maridueña – who plays the titular superhero in the new film – admits to having known only a smidgen about him, and he has more reason than many to register the character on his radar. You see, Maridueña’s iteration of Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, is Latino like him, and the first Latin superhero to land in live-action on the big screen.

‘There were, when I was growing up, only a handful of young Latino superheroes. And for that reason, I did know, actually, a little bit about Blue Beetle. Young Justice, the animated series, came [along] at a time when I liked animation. So I knew Jaime from TV shows,’ Maridueña tells Total Film over Zoom. Jaime Reyes also featured in the 2008-2011 animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold and video game Injustice 2 – in which he was always Maridueña’s favourite (‘He’s definitely the coolest’) character to play.

The Cobra Kai star seems more confident and articulate than his 22 years. He effuses boyish energy but talks about Gen Z as if he’s not one of them. Blue Beetle director Angel Manuel Soto describes the actor as charming and charismatic; when they first met, he says, ‘He wasn’t trying to be older, yet he knew how to handle himself.’