Harvey Guillén is more than just an epic vampire hunter. The What We Do in the Shadows actor has been tapped to play a key role in DC Films’ upcoming Blue Beetle, the first film from the studio to feature a Latino lead. Bruna Marquezine and Belissa Escobedo have also joined the project, The Wrap reports.
Brazilian actress and newcomer Marquezine has been set as the female lead and love interest Penny, with Escobedo set to play Milagros Reyes, the younger sister of Jaime Reyes. Guillén’s role is being kept under wraps, but if it’s anything like his breakthrough in WWDITS, DC fans can expect to become absolutely obsessed. Perhaps the legendary Blue Beetle needs a familiar to help him fight crime?
Blue Beetle, based on the comics beginning in 2006 from Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner, follows Jaime Reyes, an average, working class teenager kicking around in El Paso. He has no connection to any superhero background—until he discovers wonky alien technology. Soon enough, Jaime’s the third Blue Beetle, sporting newly-enhanced speed, strength, and wings. Think Spider-Man…but with beetles.
The action flick has already tapped Cobra Kai’s Xolo Maridueña as the historic lead, Jaime/Blue Beetle. Angel Manuel Soto, who most recently directed HBO Max’s Charm City Kings, will direct the script from Miss Bala writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer. Like recent films In the Heights, West Side Story, and Encanto, Spanish will be woven into the dialogue in naturalistic ways.
“I don’t know how much I can speak on, but what I can speak on is the fact that the thing that is really going to shine in this movie is that the Latino experience is not a monolith,” Maridueña recently told Variety in an interview. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all story. Whether you speak zero Spanish or are fluent, you’re not more Latino than someone else. The reality is that you can come from whatever background and at the end of the day you’re all gonna come together for this mission or whatever it is. The familial togetherness is what makes us Latino and the fact that we’re gonna ride for each other, that’s what makes us Latino, not this language. Don’t get me wrong, there’s gonna be Spanish in the movie. We’re gonna speak Spanish; it’s gonna be how it feels at home, but Spanish isn’t the only reason for that.”
Guillén has been playing sidekick Guillermo de la Cruz on vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows for three seasons, with a fourth due later this year on FX. The actor has also starred in series like Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Reacher, and Archer, most recently wrapping the Natalie Morales COVID film I’m Totally Fine. Escobedo most recently starred in Sex Appeal for Hulu, and Blue Beetle will mark Marquezine’s (who already has a stacked resume of Brazilian TV shows) first major film role.
Blue Beetle was initially developed for HBO Max, but later flipped theatrical with an expected Aug. 18, 2023 release date. Warner Bros. returned to their exclusive theatrical window with the release of fellow DC film The Batman this past weekend, yielding grand results as the film raked a whopping $134 million in its first weekend. Perhaps the studio is hoping to Beetle-juice some of those box-office dollars again.
