With HBO Max now established as one of the market's major streaming services, Warner Bros. is starting to produce a number of projects as online exclusives. This very much includes movies based on the heroes from DC Comics – though some of the moves made have been a touch controversial. For example, while fans have been stoked about Jaime Reyes a.k.a. Blue Beetle getting his own upcoming solo film since the project started development back in 2018, the anticipation has been tinged with some disappointment due to the fact that it wouldn't provide an opportunity to see a Latino hero at the center of a blockbuster on the big screen.
Well, now that disappointment can completely evaporate, as Warner Bros. has announced not only that Blue Beetle has a release date, but also confirmed that it will now be getting theatrical distribution.
The Hollywood Reporter has the news on this development, revealing that Blue Beetle now is set to be released on August 13, 2023. The movie is being directed by Angel Manuel Soto, and Xolo Maridueña, best known for his role on the Netflix series Cobra Kai, is attached to play the titular hero.
Blue Beetle has been slowly coming together over the last six months, with Maridueña having been cast all the way back in August. The last we heard anything significant about the project was during October's online DC Fandome event, at which time the world got to see the badass concept art that is featured at the top of this article. It's not clear what happened behind the scenes of the production that has seen it go from being a streaming movie to a big screen release, but fans can celebrate the news regardless.
As of right now, there are still other DC Comics movies set to go into production as HBO Max exclusives – the list including Batgirl starring Leslie Grace and the Birds of Prey spin-off Black Canary with Jurnee Smollett. Blue Beetle, however, has joined a roster of upcoming DC Movies being made for the big screen that includes Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom (which just recently wrapped filming), Black Adam, Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, The Flash, and The Batman.
Given its August 2023 release date, Blue Beetle will very likely go into production in the next six months – which means that we should be hearing a lot more about it very soon as it starts to build out its filmmaking team and cast (and through that process it will be interesting to learn about what other DC characters will be included in the story). Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest updates about the project, and to learn about all of the movies set to come out in the more immediate future, scope out our regularly updated 2022 Movie Release Calendar.
