TAGGED AS: DC Universe, interviews, movies, Superheroes
Blue Beetle stars Xolo Maridueña (Jamie Reyes), Bruna Marquezine (Jenny Kord), George Lopez (Uncle Rudy Reyes), and Belissa Escobedo (Milagro Reyes) sat down with RT correspondent Naz Perez to talk about creating a Blue Beetle city, break down the scarab scene, and so much more. Blue Beetle is the first live-action superhero film to star a Latino lead, and it continues the final run of the existing DC Universe (along with Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom, which is due out in December) before newly appointed DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran reboot the franchise.
Naz Perez for Rotten Tomatoes: Here we are celebrating DC’s first Latino live-action superhero Blue Beetle on the big screen — such a big deal! So the first thing that I thought was really cool about Blue Beetle story is that, like other DC superheroes — like how Superman has Metropolis and Batman has Gotham — Jaime has Palmera City. So I wanted to first ask you, what is that city like and how is it different than a Gotham or Metropolis? And this question is for all of you guys.
Xolo Maridueña: I’d say, you know, first off, with Palmera City, it’s a city made specifically for our movie and for this storyline that we’re making with Blue Beetle. And originally the character takes place in El Paso, Texas, and we decided to make it to Palmera. Kind of what you were saying, blue Beetle deserves his own city, right? Batman has Gotham, Superman has Metropolis. And we wanted to have a world that felt like it was reminiscent of the culture that Jaime grew up in. It has the sound of a place like Rio, or the smell of Boyle Heights, or the people of an El Paso, but it’s a metropolis of Latinos. And I think it helped bring the story from an American story to a worldwide kind of picture.
George Lopez: And I think the kitchen was not a big kitchen, but there’s a lot that happens inside the house. It wasn’t a big house, but it is as authentic as any friend of mine. I used to go pick up for school and his grandma was living with him. And all the chairs, all the key chains, all the stuff that was in the wide open is just amazing.
Rotten Tomatoes: I mean, the mullet or rat’s tail… Is that a mullet or a rat’s tail that you’re wearing?
Lopez: Well, you know, a lot of people would say rat’s tail, but I say muleta.
Rotten Tomatoes: I love that you brought up the house, George. I can’t wait to see more of it, because my favorite scene in the trailer is when the scarab bonds with Jaime in the house. And of course, for people watching who don’t know what the scarab is, it’s this ancient alien relic, chooses Jaime as its host, gives him these incredible powers, this beautiful suit. But for those of you that were in that scene, can you just give me a scene breakdown of that? Because it looked like so much fun shooting it.
Belissa Escobedo: That was a really fun scene to shoot. I think that was one of my favorite scenes to shoot.
Bruna Marquezine: It took you guys, like, days.
Maridueña: Yeah. It took us a few days to do it, and it’s mainly because it’s so loud. There’s so much screaming. But what a fun scene to get to just… That’s kind of why you get into acting, is to do the crazy, larger-than-life moments.
Watch the video for the full interview with Maridueña, Lopez, Escobedo, and Marquezine.
Blue Beetle (2023) is in theaters on August 18, 2023.
