Blue Beetle's Director Took Direct Inspiration From The Injustice Video Games
DC is hoping to turn a lot of moviegoers into fans with a slightly lesser-known character this summer when "Blue Beetle" hits theaters. But it's not like nobody knows who this superhero is, as he has had a presence in the comics, animated shows, and — more to the point — the games for quite some time. To that end, the director of the upcoming film, Angel Manuel Soto, took direct inspiration for the hero's costume from the "Injustice" video games.
/Film's Jenna Busch was recently on hand for a "Blue Beetle" trailer premiere event. During the proceedings, Soto was asked about the character's costume in the film, which certainly looks a bit like the costume players are familiar with from the series of very popular fighting games. Soto did not deny that he took inspiration from the games and, moreover, revealed that Blue Beetle was his favorite character to play as:
"Yeah, of course [there are specific aspects to the suit that we pulled from the Injustice games]. It's my favorite character in 'Injustice,' and his combos are pretty f***ing awesome. So we really took [it] to heart ... People that play 'Injustice' are going to be happy, let's put it that way."
"Injustice: Gods Among Us" was originally released in 2013, with "Injustice 2" (seen below) following in 2017. Both games were incredibly popular, topping the sales charts upon release and selling hundreds of thousands of copies.
Borrow from the best
More importantly, both the "Injustice" games were embraced widely by fans. It's worth noting that the games included actual story-driven narratives and weren't just player-vs-player beat-em-ups with various DC characters. That is key, as that means there is a pretty sizable audience that is familiar with a similar iteration of Blue Beetle that was included in a pair of storylines that were widely enjoyed. (The games were even adapted into an R-rated animated film in 2021, though it got much more of a mixed response.)
Given that "Blue Beetle" is entering theaters at a time of uncertainty not just for DC's shared cinematic universe, but for superhero movies in general, given the bombing of recent releases such as "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" and "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," it can't hurt to have a popular corner of the larger DC brand to tangentially connect this movie to. A little familiarity never hurts, particularly when it shows that the director is connected to the material in a meaningful way.
The cast for the upcoming DC film is headlined by "Cobra Kai" star Xolo Maridueña as Jamie Reyes. Bruna Marquezine ("Salve Jorge"), Belissa Escobedo ("Hocus Pocus 2"), George Lopez ("Rio"), Adriana Barraza ("Bingo Hell"), Elpidia Carrillo ("The Tax Collector"), Damian Alcazar ("Miss Bala"), Raoul Trujillo ("Mayans M.C."), Susan Sarandon ("Thelma & Louise"), and Harvey Guillen ("What We Do in the Shadows") round out the ensemble.
"Blue Beetle" is set to hit theaters on August 18, 2023.