The Blue Beetle Movie Adds Harvey Guillen, And More To Its Cast
Before making a DC Extended Universe debut in "Blue Beetle," Jaime Reyes' grub (which is apparently what a group of beetles is called) has recently grown. Now that they've switched gears from an HBO Max exclusive to a theatrical release, the upcoming live-action adaptation of the young Latino superhero's origin story, directed by Angel Manuel Soto and written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, just added a trio of stars.
Previously, only "Cobra Kai" star Xolo Maridueña had been announced for the project. But thanks to a new report from The Wrap, we've learned that Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, and Harvey Guillén are also on board.
With the announcement of Maridueña playing the titular hero that received his powers from a sacred scarab beetle coming in summer 2021, it's been a while since we heard anything on the "Blue Beetle" front. But now we finally have an idea of who will be filling in the rest of the cast. First, Marquezine is set to play Penny, the female lead of the film and Jaime's love interest. Though this is her first major project in Hollywood, the young Brazilian actress has been appearing in telenovelas since 2002.
Escobedo will be Milagros Reyes, Jaime's younger sister. She is probably best known for her roles in the FX anthology series "American Horror Story," the Hulu film from "Sex Appeal" from American High, and the ABC dramedy "The Baker and the Beauty." However, we'll soon see her in the upcoming "Hocus Pocus" sequel for Disney+.
Metamorphosis
As for Guillén, there's no word on who the "What We Do In The Shadows" star will be playing. Details are being kept under wraps, but he's a great get for this cast. When you look at the third Blue Beetle's cast of characters, there are a few options that might be just out of reach for the beloved actor with a rapidly rising star. It's possible that he could play Jaime and Milagros' dad, but he might be too young for that. Maybe he could be Jaime's best friend Paco, but since he'd be paired with Maridueña as Reyes, he might be too old for that too. Guillén could also go against type and play a villain like the cyborg Brother Eye, the "high tech creature of the night" known as Hardware, or the savage Brutale. There's also a DC villain named Gizmo that has crossed paths with Blue Beetle, but that might be too on the nose.
Since none of those choices feel exactly right, hear me out: What if Harvey Guillén is playing Ted Kord? The tech nerd that also adopted the Blue Beetle moniker could act as a mentor to the El Paso teen. During "DC Rebirth," Kord and Reyes were working together to study the beetle attached to Jaime's back, so the DCEU counterpart could be expanded into more of an Iron Man/Spider-Man relationship as seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Plus, with Guillén playing Kord, you could bring in Kayvan Novak as Booster Gold and Matt Berry as Skeets for an epic "What We Do In The Shadows" reunion in the DCEU. If they do that, WB would basically be printing their own money. After all, they want all the bat content they can get, right?
After lingering in development since 2018, it's great to finally see some movement with "Blue Beetle." These new additions to the cast are awesome and I'm sure that more are on the way since the film is scheduled to hit theaters on August 18, 2023.