DC Studios' Blue Beetle Director Explains Why One Scene Vitally 'Triggers' Viewers
Based on promotional material, DC Studios' "Blue Beetle" doesn't seem to push the boundaries much when it comes to superhero flicks. There's enough action, drama, comedy, and heart to go around, amounting to an entertaining superhero origin story for Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña, who could be in for a bright future in the DC Universe) suitable for all ages and demographics. However, according to director Ángel Manuel Soto, it's not all fun and games throughout the runtime. It goes into a pretty dark, triggering place at one point, which Soto feels is vital to the film as a whole.
During the movie, Reyes' home is broken into by Kord Industries enforcers, who proceed to terrorize the young Latino hero's family. Soto ensured this scene resembled a real-life ICE raid, where ICE agents break into homes unannounced to bring undocumented immigrants into custody. Though it's an unpleasant scene to watch, he told MovieMaker Magazine that it's one he needs moviegoers to see regardless of how uncomfortable it might make them feel. "I needed the depiction to be triggering, because it's the experience of many," he told the publication.
At the end of the day, while Soto wanted to make "Blue Beetle" as accessible a superhero movie as possible, he also wanted to use it to help out communities and cultures that are underrepresented in mainstream Hollywood.
Soto wants Blue Beetle to open creative doors for other communities
In recent years, Hollywood and specifically the superhero genre have improved significantly when it comes to representation. From "Black Panther" to "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law," it has never been more clear that comic book adaptations can put a range of different people front and center. "Blue Beetle" keeps this trend going by putting the spotlight on a Latino hero and telling a story with elements that resonate with Latino viewers especially. According to Ángel Manuel Soto, a major reason for doing this was to open creative doors for other communities to tell their stories at the movies.
"This is just the first of many. Yes, the first of many 'Blue Beetle' movies, but also the first of many other communities also being able to tell their authentic stories, with the voices that should tell those stories, as well as with the respect and the honor that those communities deserve," Soto said during an interview with Collider, voicing his hope that shining a spotlight on a variety of backgrounds and communities will make audiences more accepting and knowledgable on people, places, and cultures they hadn't considered before.
"Blue Beetle" opens on August 18.