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Anyhoo- planning to go see this and was psyched when I saw the original trailer. I'd heard about it before, but there was no official pics- just cast intentions.
I AM a bit miffed they took away my hometown as the setting, and replaced it with DC stand-in Los Angeles.. BUUuuuUUuuuuUUt, that said I'd rather be in LA too.
It looks like they're going "Alien artefact" vs Magic, which DC has flip-flopped over again, but will see when we see. Did see evidence of Ted Kord's ship and suit in one trailer, so that's nice. Now, if only Ted and Speedball had shown up in Spiderman, we'd have all the major Ditko-verse characters together.
On another note, I think it'd great for showing a major Hispanic superhero. Years ago I met Tony Plata (Dad on American Ugly Betty) and he was directing a stage production of Much ado about Nothing that was set in 1800's California because he wanted a voice for up and coming Hispanic actors that wasn't a gang member or a drug dealer (his words).
That said, George Lopez is a known name among newer/younger actors, but knowing how hard he is to work with makes me wonder how it was on set. A comedian was on our local rock radio station and was talking about when he did the Latin kings of comedy and wanted to thank him for opening the door for the rest of them, and George was like "Screw you, I worked my ass off to get here and the rest of you are riding my coat tails!"
So, a few more interesting things I have in my noggin: the Blue Beetle character is almost as old as Superman- coming out in 1939 by Fox comics. Charlton comics asked Ditko to reinvent the hero for their 60's superhero line to compete with Marvel. Charlton got their rights bought up by DC in 1983, with the characters the Question, Nightshade, Peacemaker, and Captain Atom. With this acquisition, Alan Moore was approached to write a gritty alternate timeline with all the Charlton characters... but then DC decided to shuffle them into the normal continuity with Crisis on Infinite Earths. So, yeah- Nite owl, Rorschach, Silk Specter, the Comedian, and Dr. Manhattan are just the Charlton characters. (Ozymandius was based on a speedster, Pete Canon, Thunderbolt- but the creator retianed rights, dispite showing up in Crisis).
Currently, the original Blue Beetle Dan Garret is public domain but with copyright laws what they are, you can either print the old original comic, or make new stuff- so DC has been reprinting the old Fox comic, but Dynamite has the Beetle in Alex Ross's Project Superpowers (haven't read them all or seen him yet, other than in the back of the character sketches).
I was hoping Beetle would've been in the JSA in Black Adam, as they had a lot of other Egyptian-based tie-ins, what with Hawkman and Dr. 007 Fate, but- no dice. Wonder if/ when this'll tie in to the new slate of DC continuity.
Well, that's my 2 cents- didn't see anyone starting a thread, so here you go!
"Cold is the Emperor's way of telling us to burn more heretics."
Gert wrote: I'm usually pretty good at guessing at least the vibe of the bad guy but I'm drawing a complete blank here.
I think it is Black Beetle, an evil version of the Blue Beetle. The trailers have glimpses of someone in a similar suit and films almost always go with evil version of the hero early on. Initial antagonist will be the company or govt institution that discovered Khaji Da, the beetle that burrows into your spine, but in the end it will be Black Beetle.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
It's Carapax, and yep- basically an evil Blue Beetle. But where Jaime gets his from alien tech, Carapax is more an iron Man rip-off.. It was nice seeing him in the collected Dc Showcase of all the old Ted Kord run, but not a huge villain everyone knows.
"Cold is the Emperor's way of telling us to burn more heretics."
Well, that's my 2 cents- didn't see anyone starting a thread, so here you go!
There was some chatter about it in the New DC Slate thread, but considering its one of the last (?) of the pre-New Slate movies, its not particularly relevant there.
Reviews are creeping out, and aren't enthusiastic. They sound bored of another film playing on a spiderman/iron man mashup (its not, obviously, but non-comic reviewers aren't going to know or care), and some rote Hispanic representation.
The harshest I saw was basically 'Susan Sarandon slumming it in a stale made-for-TV movie.'
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/08/16 20:34:49
James Gunn just confirmed that Blue Beetle will not be the last time DC Universe fans see Xolo Maridueña's Jaime Reyes on the big screen.
Gunn, who is DC Studios' co-chair and co-CEO, set the record straight regarding the future of Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle on Threads. According to Gunn, Reyes is one of "a handful of other characters" who will carry over to his and fellow studio boss Peter Safran's revamped DCU, which kicks off on the big screen with Superman: Legacy and the small screen with Creature Commandos. Gunn declined to elaborate further on the identity of the other legacy DC Extended Universe characters who will be making the jump to the DCU alongside Blue Beetle, leaving fans to speculate who these heroes or villains might be.
So long as the film doesn't bomb, it looks like Blue Beetle (portrayed by Xolo Maridueña) will be in the DCU.
'It is a source of constant consternation that my opponents cannot correlate their innate inferiority with their inevitable defeat. It would seem that stupidity is as eternal as war.'
- Nemesor Zahndrekh of the Sautekh Dynasty Overlord of the Crownworld of Gidrim
Grimskul wrote: I feel like Blue Beetle will be lucky to break even given the trend of bad super hero movies this year, and the trailers scream generic for this film.
I don't think it really has anything to do with superheroes. Look at Indiana Jones and MI:7 struggling with box office. Meanwhile a docudrama about Robert Oppenheimer has done really well. That industry is in a very weird place still. Audiences are showing up in force for some films and just staying away from others and there isn't a simple answer as to why.
I agree that the environment probably isn't good for BB. But you never know, it could end up a cultural touchstone a la Black Panther, Wonder Woman or Barbie. That kind of thing is hard to predict. I don't think it's going to have a big opening, but the box office could show some legs if it becomes a 'thing'. I think the film was made for about $150 mil, so it doesn't have to do huge numbers to break even.
Grimskul wrote: I feel like Blue Beetle will be lucky to break even given the trend of bad super hero movies this year, and the trailers scream generic for this film.
I don't think it really has anything to do with superheroes. Look at Indiana Jones and MI:7 struggling with box office. Meanwhile a docudrama about Robert Oppenheimer has done really well. That industry is in a very weird place still. Audiences are showing up in force for some films and just staying away from others and there isn't a simple answer as to why.
I agree that the environment probably isn't good for BB. But you never know, it could end up a cultural touchstone a la Black Panther, Wonder Woman or Barbie. That kind of thing is hard to predict. I don't think it's going to have a big opening, but the box office could show some legs if it becomes a 'thing'. I think the film was made for about $150 mil, so it doesn't have to do huge numbers to break even.
I think there is a pretty good answer. People are coming out for movies that have something to say and are well crafted to say it. Barbie and Oppenheimer are both smash hits. Both are well crafted with a singular vision and something to say. One is dreary as feth and the other fun. What does blue beetle have to say that isn't just a generic watch a guy punch a guy in a different colored suit with the same powers?
These are my opinions. This is how I feel. Others may feel differently. This needs to be stated for some reason.
I dunno. When you look at the top movies of 2023, they don't all have 'something to say'. I think audiences post-Covid are just a little more mercurial than they used to be.
MI has struggled domestically, despite being a movie you might want to see on a big screen starring the guy everyone was calling the last big movie star after Top Gun 2 did giant box office. Oh, and the reviews have been excellent. There's no good reason for it not to be doing better.
Anyway, BB has gotten pretty good reviews overall, but no one seems to be coming out to watch it as expected.
Barbie and Oppenheimer had big ad campaigns behind them, conventional and viral. Everyone knew they were coming.
In comparison, other movies this year have kind of crept into the box office with little word and some have had word but came out so fast after ads started coming out they had nearly no time to build momentum.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/08/19 17:01:35
'It is a source of constant consternation that my opponents cannot correlate their innate inferiority with their inevitable defeat. It would seem that stupidity is as eternal as war.'
- Nemesor Zahndrekh of the Sautekh Dynasty Overlord of the Crownworld of Gidrim
It didn't make the 30m the revised projections said it would, but it also didn't fall through the floor at 12m either.
I mean, this film isn't going to be successful, but at least it didn't start out the gate with a sub-15m debut. That would've been sad.
Some people are trying to make this the cultural touchstone event that Black Panther was, but for the Latino community. For that to be true, people would have to know who this character and care who this character was.
BP got a pretty big intro in a very big Marvel film prior to his own film. Blue Beetle? No one's ever heard of him before, and I doubt the fanbase from Kobra Kai translates enough to get people on board because of the actor.
There was some chatter about it in the New DC Slate thread, but considering its one of the last (?) of the pre-New Slate movies, its not particularly relevant there.
I believe Aquaman 2: The Aquamanning is still to come.
But wow this movie slipped out with zero publicity.
Apparently you just aren’t on the right venues to see the ads for it? I was getting them non-stop on Facebook and Twit… X for weeks before the movie came out.
BP got a pretty big intro in a very big Marvel film prior to his own film. Blue Beetle? No one's ever heard of him before, and I doubt the fanbase from Kobra Kai translates enough to get people on board because of the actor.
Yeah, I think you're completely on target here. Marvel would have introduced him in another film instead of just rolling out a BB solo film and crossing their fingers. I don't like Marvel's constant cross-promotion, but clearly it makes tons of business sense.
Re: advertising, I saw some ads for BB. No idea what the spend was, but it feels like it's somewhere between Flash (which was heavily promoted) and Shazam 2 (which was barely advertised). The studio was probably obligated to do at least a moderate level of promotion since BB will be the first official new DCU character (even though it wasn't Gunn's baby). For whatever reason, it felt like they wanted Shazam 2 to just die, lol.
Haven't seen this one yet, but a buddy did and said he was pleasantly surprised.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2023/08/21 13:31:57
He wants to get this rebooted universe slate out there, but he was saddled with 4 lame duck movies (Shazam 2, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Aquaman 2) that he:
1. Cannot outright state that they're not part of his New Era, as that will utterly sink them.
2. Cannot outright state that they're part of his New Era, because if they tank (as 3 of the 4 have so far) he doesn't want to be tied to them.
This is a no win situation, and the actors strike doesn't help matters as it means they can't put anything new into production either.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2023/08/21 23:07:31
H.B.M.C. wrote: It didn't make the 30m the revised projections said it would, but it also didn't fall through the floor at 12m either.
I mean, this film isn't going to be successful, but at least it didn't start out the gate with a sub-15m debut. That would've been sad.
Some people are trying to make this the cultural touchstone event that Black Panther was, but for the Latino community. For that to be true, people would have to know who this character and care who this character was.
BP got a pretty big intro in a very big Marvel film prior to his own film. Blue Beetle? No one's ever heard of him before, and I doubt the fanbase from Kobra Kai translates enough to get people on board because of the actor.
I always get skeptical when they try to pull the "first (blank) leading actor" as one of the selling points, as if that makes it better inherently somehow and doesn't really tell me anything about the movie that says it's good. From what I got as well is that in terms of representation, the Latino aspect they lean into the most is emphasizing family, but I feel like that's been done a lot already in both super hero movies (they've already done it (badly) in their own DC super hero films in Suicide Squad and Shazam) and other films like Coco (who did it way better) so it's not breaking any new ground there.
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kodos wrote: haven't seen a single add prior release and there were a total of 8 people watching the movie on saturday (4 of them being me and my family)
and yes, it had that feeling that someone thought that a Latino focused movie must be made similar to BP
though I knew BB before that because it was featured in one of the Batman animated series (brave and the bold?)
Yeah, it was Brave and the Bold, I first learned about him too from that show, which gave me the context for when he showed up again in Young Justice.
He wants to get this rebooted universe slate out there, but he was saddled with 4 lame duck movies (Shazam 2, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Aquaman 2) that he:
1. Cannot outright state that they're not part of his New Era, as that will utterly sink them.
2. Cannot outright state that they're part of his New Era, because if they tank (as 3 of the 4 have so far) he doesn't want to be tied to them.
This is a no win situation, and the actors strike doesn't help either as it means they can't put anything new into production either.
So are you telling me he might have "jumped the Gunn" on taking the job at DC as their new Kevin Feige?
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2023/08/21 13:37:08
BP got a pretty big intro in a very big Marvel film prior to his own film. Blue Beetle? No one's ever heard of him before, and I doubt the fanbase from Kobra Kai translates enough to get people on board because of the actor.
Yeah, I think you're completely on target here. Marvel would have introduced him in another film instead of just rolling out a BB solo film and crossing their fingers. I don't like Marvel's constant cross-promotion, but clearly it makes tons of business sense.
Re: advertising, I saw some ads for BB. No idea what the spend was, but it feels like it's somewhere between Flash (which was heavily promoted) and Shazam 2 (which was barely advertised). The studio was probably obligated to do at least a moderate level of promotion since BB will be the first official new DCU character (even though it wasn't Gunn's baby). For whatever reason, it felt like they wanted Shazam 2 to just die, lol.
Haven't seen this one yet, but a buddy did and said he was pleasantly surprised.
It helps that Black Panther is a character that has existed since the 70s with a huge history of representation and a few good inclusions of the character along the way in other media. He shows up in the 90s fantastic 4 cartoon. Had his own very adult series on mtv (i think?) Was a big part of earths mightiest heroes.
The jaime rayes version of blue beetle debuted in 2006. He was in a season or 2 of young justice. One of those seasons if not both were only available on hbo max. None of his history is really about latin american representation. This isn't a hispanic character from a hispanic nation with a indiginous based culture being an all around great person and representing a continent. Black panther is.
Namor in Wakanda Forever is closer to a cultural touch stone/representation for South America then Jaime is. Jaime is just an American getting into Ironman fights with a nanotech suit.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2023/08/21 16:00:08
These are my opinions. This is how I feel. Others may feel differently. This needs to be stated for some reason.
Blue Beetle's problems are just that DC films reputation is worse than Marvel's was pre-Iron Man when it comes to films. It's not enough for a movie to be good; it needs to be exceptional. It needs to be a must see.
Marvel has been bleeding trust, but people keep going becasue they have trust to bleed. Iron Man carried people to Avengers; Avengers to Winter Soldier; WS to Guardians; etc. Until DC can make a film that builds that kind of faith in the brand, niche characters like Blue Beetle aren't going to have an explosive opening weekend.
It didn’t help that the largest potential market for this movie spent the last weekend indoors hiding from a tropical storm. From what I have heard, there is enthusiasm for the movie…but no one was going out for a movie when their phone was blasting flash flood warnings all day.
We plan to see this film or the TMNT film next weekend, assuming nothing else comes up.
He wants to get this rebooted universe slate out there, but he was saddled with 4 lame duck movies (Shazam 2, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Aquaman 2) that he:
1. Cannot outright state that they're not part of his New Era, as that will utterly sink them.
2. Cannot outright state that they're part of his New Era, because if they tank (as 3 of the 4 have so far) he doesn't want to be tied to them.
This is a no win situation, and the actors strike doesn't help either as it means they can't put anything new into production either.
He did outright state on Instagram that BB is part of the new DCU.
At the #BlueBeetle screening with my partner Peter Safran! I can’t wait for audiences to meet Jaime Reyes, who will be an amazing part of the DCU going forward!
How much of a part is the question, of course.
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LunarSol wrote: Blue Beetle's problems are just that DC films reputation is worse than Marvel's was pre-Iron Man when it comes to films. It's not enough for a movie to be good; it needs to be exceptional. It needs to be a must see.
Marvel has been bleeding trust, but people keep going becasue they have trust to bleed. Iron Man carried people to Avengers; Avengers to Winter Soldier; WS to Guardians; etc. Until DC can make a film that builds that kind of faith in the brand, niche characters like Blue Beetle aren't going to have an explosive opening weekend.
Yeah, Superman: Legacy needs to be a borderline masterpiece if the DCU is even going to launch properly. I'm just not sure if another Superman reboot is what audiences want to see. Or if WB would even stick to Gunn's plan if Legacy underwhelms. See Superman Returns and Man of Steel, neither of which ever got a proper sequel.
And I still wonder if Gunn is the writer and filmmaker to pull off the masterpiece. He's a talented guy, to me but his best stuff doesn't seem to line up with Superman. Using a sports analogy, any professional pitcher can probably throw a decent slider. But if their best pitches are fastball-splitter-changeup, why ask them to throw sliders?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/08/21 17:56:19
They are trying to have their cake and eat it too. Aquaman 2, Blue Beetle, Black Adam, etc... all the movies that have nothing to do with the plan going forward should be scrapped. Write them off. (Yes, I know they are saying BB is part fo that slate. But it's not. Not really. It was planned before Gunn came on. He is just trying to make something out of something that was basically mandated to him.)
Then, if Gunn is supposed to head up this new DCU, start with your Iron Man 1. Which I would argue should have been The Batman.
Then you do a Superman, freshly moved to Metropolis, first day on the job at the Daily Planet.
Then a new reboot of Wonder Woman to establish the trinity.
A Batman 2 (Like an Iron Man 2) to bring the grounded Batman character more into line with the wider DCU.
Justice League. Do the White Martians. Introduce Martian Manhunter by doing that. Chuck in the Flash and a Hawkwoman and a GL and you have the Justice League Cartoons line up to build off of.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2023/08/21 23:06:09
These are my opinions. This is how I feel. Others may feel differently. This needs to be stated for some reason.
gorgon wrote: He did outright state on Instagram that BB is part of the new DCU.
And given the results, how likely is he to keep saying things like that?
As long as the critic and audience reviews are good, what would poor box office hurt from a creative perspective? "Part of the DCU" doesn't necessarily mean it'll ever get a sequel. But the character can turn up in other things, Marvel-style. Like...the announced Booster Gold series.
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Lance845 wrote: They are trying to have their cake and eat it too. Aquaman 2, Blue Beetle, Black Adam, etc... all the movies that have nothing to do with the plan going forward should be scrapped. Write them off. (Yes, I know they are saying BB is part fo that slate. But it's not. Not really. It was planned before Gunn came on. He is just trying to make something out of something that was basically mandated to him.)
There's no way they'd take the financial hit by writing off all those films, though. That's probably a billion dollars total budget. Anyone with sense would release those films to make back as much as possible. Even if they don't do well, the box office will still be enough for the studio to be well ahead of write-offs.
Then, if Gunn is supposed to head up this new DCU, start with your Iron Man 1. Which I would argue should have been The Batman.
It's a killer in some ways for the studio that it wasn't, but it's in Matt Reeves' deal that it stays separate.
Justice League. Do the White Martians. Introduce Martian Manhunter by doing that. Chuck in the Flash and a Hawkwoman and a GL and you have the Justice League Cartoons line up to build off of.
If you look at what Gunn has shared and connect a few dots, it's actually pretty clear what story he's adapting for the first phase at least.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/08/22 03:48:23
If you look at what Gunn has shared and connect a few dots, it's actually pretty clear what story he's adapting for the first phase at least.
Not if you haven't read a DC comic in pushing 20 years.
Ok, that's not quite accurate. I read the entire run of whatever the Jonah Hex New 52 series was called.
I'm certain he's not adapting that, so you'll just have to (very briefly) tell me.
