‘Blue Beetle’: Get to Know the Close-Knit Family in the DC Superhero Film (Exclusive)

Blue Beetle emphasizes the power of family.

In a behind-the-scenes clip shared exclusively with PEOPLE, the cast of the new DC Studios film discusses how this superhero origin story separates itself from the pack.

“There’s no secrecy” from the family, star Xolo Maridueña, who plays Jaime Reyes, explains in the clip.

When a powerful, parasitic device latches onto Jaime, claiming him as its human host, he gains superpowers. Then, billionaire businesswoman Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon) hunts him down to weaponize the alien tech.

The Reyes family, though, gets in on the action too.

There’s Belissa Escobedo as his sister, Adriana Barraza as his Nana, Damían Alcázar as his dad, Elpidia Carrillo as his mom, George Lopez as Uncle Rudy — Jaime’s “ride-or-dies,” says Maridueña.

“Blue Beetle” (2023).

Hopper Stone/SMPSP/DC Comics

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“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a superhero movie where the family is always present,” says costar Bruna Marquezine. Escobedo points out with a laugh, “Sometimes that can be very frustrating.”

Adds Lopez, “In this movie, the family is gonna be the heroes. The family is gonna save the day.”

Director Ángel Manuel Soto says, “They are part of the adventure.”

“Blue Beetle” (2023).

Hopper Stone/SMPSP/DC Comics

The DC Comics character Blue Beetle first appeared in 1939.

It wasn’t until 2006 that the character was reimagined to tell the story of Jaime, described as a “college graduate with a close-knit Mexican American family living in El Paso, Texas.” (The film is set instead in the fictional Palmera City.)

Director Soto said in a previous statement that he wanted to “capture the warmth of the family” in the film.

The filmmakers “embraced” the “very unique journey where the family is part of the adventure, not a group of people or an object of rescue, but on the contrary, an integral part of the construct of this superhero.”

Blue Beetle is in theaters Aug. 18.

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Source: HIS Education