The Big Picture

Xolo Maridueña highlights the importance of family in Blue Beetle and why that makes the film unique in the genre. He talks about a Blue Beetle sequel and continuing on in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU. Maridueña also discusses returning to Cobra Kai for the final Season 6.

Blue Beetle is one of the last DC films of the old regime as studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran look to reboot the franchise. While the idea of superhero fatigue continues to haunt a brand that has faced its fair share of hardships, Blue Beetle serves as a breath of fresh air. On the surface, the film might seem like your run-of-the-mill superhero origin story, but it’s much more profound. The character of Jaime Reyes, his connection with his family, and the importance of his community are things we rarely see portrayed in a comic book film.

Now that the SAG-AFTRA strike has concluded, we finally had the opportunity to sit down with the Blue Beetle star, Xolo Maridueña. The young actor’s performance was so authentic and captivating that he is one of the few actors continuing their work in James Gunn’s DCU. Blue Beetle is the first time Maridueña stars as the lead of a theatrical release, but more importantly, it’s the first live-action superhero movie starring a Latino hero. In this interview, Maridueña discusses what it felt like to become a superhero for the first time, his future in the DC Universe, and closing the chapter on the hit series Cobra Kai.

Blue Beetle An alien scarab chooses Jaime Reyes to be its symbiotic host, bestowing the recent college graduate with a suit of armor that’s capable of extraordinary powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero known as Blue Beetle. Release Date August 18, 2023 Director Angel Manuel Soto Cast Xolo Mariduena, Susan Sarandon, Raoul Max Trujillo, Harvey Guillen, George Lopez, Elpidia Carrillo Main Genre Superhero Genres Superhero, Action, Adventure
COLLIDER: The SAG-AFTRA strikes are over, so you can finally talk about this movie. I wanted to open things up for you a little bit here and ask you what is the biggest thing you wanted to talk about regarding Blue Beetle that you can finally say to us?

XOLO MARIDUEÑA: Whoa! The biggest thing is that I gotta give the flowers to Angel, the director. Shit, man, this was two years of his life. He was there every single day, pre-production, every single day of production, every single day of post-production, did the whole press junket, did everything. So the thing that I’m so excited about is he handled it all, and I’m so excited for him to get his flowers. But really, it was such a blast. I love that a lot of people are getting to see Blue Beetle for the first time and meet him for the first time, and to get to add a family behind that, I think that’s something that is unexpected and that people haven’t really seen a ton. That was the one thing that I was excited to kind of get to chat about.

For sure. The family dynamic, to me, is the thing that really stands out in this film, especially because that’s something we don’t see in a lot of movies nowadays, especially superhero movies. What was it like bringing that kind of authenticity to that dynamic in this film? Did you bring any of your own personal experiences to the role of Jaime Reyes?

MARIDUEÑA: Yeah, I definitely did. It’s one of those things, man, where honestly all of the biggest moments in my life I’ve shared with my family. My biggest triumphs, shit, my bad bad days, I’m around my family. So, it felt really familiar to have a character where we didn’t have to explain that, right? Where it was just like, “Yep, Moms is probably walking in without knocking.” That’s just how this guy lives his life, and for those reasons, that felt familiar to me. There were so many things in the script, reading it for the first time, that I was like, “Wait a second, my experience is universal?” I grew up thinking the food on the table was just dinner, not that it was Mexican food on the table. So, getting to see all of these things that I love, and I enjoyed from my youth, and the things that I love about my family in a movie intentionally, whether we have to talk about it and reference it or not, was always the best thing for me. And the soundtrack is the thing that I go back to as like, “Damn! They just hit it.” I like it.

It is a fantastic soundtrack. Being a superhero is a big deal, especially in the DC universe. How did it feel suiting up for the first time?

MARIDUEÑA: Suiting up was crazy. I did most of my fittings out in LA, where I’m from, and I was only doing, like, a greave at a time, or an arm at a time, or a helmet at a time. So, when we flew out to Atlanta and finally got to the screen test day, and I put the whole suit on, I was fooled. I was straight-up fooled. I was like, “What the heck? I’m a superhero! What the heck?” [Laughs] It was really, really exciting. It helps so much. I didn’t think that I would shine in a position where I had to make it all up in my head. I’ve never had to do that before, and I didn’t think that I wanted to try that for the first time on my first movie, you know? So to have a suit that I could wear to have fight sequences that weren’t all CG, it was something that I was so grateful for.

Is There a ‘Blue Beetle’ Sequel in Talks?

Yeah, that’s awesome. I’m excited to see where you guys go next. James Gunn has come out and said that he does want to continue working with you and that this character is gonna continue, so where do you want to take Jaime next?

MARIDUEÑA: I mean, I don’t know if it’s too soon to do the Reach. The Reach feels like big, big, big boss. But I just want to see where Khaji and Jaime’s relationship goes. We spent this whole movie with Khaji as kind of like AI Khaji because they’re not synced up yet. To see them down the line once they’re… That was my favorite thing watching Young Justice was seeing that rapport there and seeing like, yo, they get along sometimes, they don’t other times.

Sometimes he’s feeling the mode. I get it.

MARIDUEÑA: Yeah, so that’s really the thing that I’m excited about, but put him next to anybody. I’m here. I’m here ready to sink my teeth into whatever they throw my way. More than anything, I just feel so grateful that we got the cosign. In whatever capacity Jaime and his family come, we’re ready for it.

Have you talked to James Gunn and Peter Safran yet about any potential future appearances?

MARIDUEÑA: I haven’t chatted with them since the movie release. We chatted a bit before the movie release, but no, not anything on the future of DC. They have more than enough on their plate trying to handle the start of their universe, and I think once that goes as well as it is gonna go, and as well as it should, then we’ll get to see the next steps.

Filming ‘Cobra Kai’ Season 6
Image by Federico Napoli

Makes sense to me. I can’t let you go, though, without talking about Cobra Kai.

MARIDUEÑA: Oh, snap! We’re going back to the dōjō.

Back to the dōjō one last time! One of my favorite shows. You guys are awesome. How does it feel to close out this specific chapter of your career?

MARIDUEÑA: I feel so sad, bro. I started the show when I was 16. We’re gonna finish, and I’m gonna be 23, and I’m like, “Wait, I still have so many years to keep hanging out with you guys!” I had so much fun. Cobra Kai taught me so much of what I love and know about acting. On camera and off-camera, the people, the relationships that I made on that show, are ones that I’ll remember for my whole life. So, I’m forever grateful for it, and I know it’s damn not gonna be the last time that we meet. I’m sure five years down the line we’ll do, like, Cobra Kai Reunion or something. [Laughs] I’m waiting for the spinoff. I need some spinoff. I would love an anime. I would love an anime spinoff.

Cobra Kai: Shippuden! That’d be sick.

MARIDUEÑA: We’ll let the judge decide.

Do you start filming Cobra Kai anytime soon? Do you have a date yet?

MARIDUEÑA: Yes, I do. I do have a date, and it’s right around the corner, so I’m excited to get back in the ‘gi. We already did the first episode right before the writers’ strike, so we’re gonna hit the ground running, I know it.

Nice! My final question for you before we go, do you know what’s next? We know Blue Beetle is gonna be a thing that you come back to, but do you know what’s next for you after Cobra Kai?

MARIDUEÑA: Yeah, I’m filming it right now. My first day is tomorrow. In the time coming, I’m sure it’ll be announced or whatnot, but I’m getting to sink my teeth into the next thing as we speak right now.

Blue Beetle is available to stream on Max in the United States.

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