DC's Blue Beetle Movie Casts George Lopez | Screen Rant
DC's Blue Beetle has added actor-comedian George Lopez to its cast. Post-Zack Snyder, Warner Bros. has been working to expand the DC Extended Universe in various ways. This includes highly-anticipated blockbusters such as Black Adam starring Dwayne Johnson and the multiversal The Flash movie featuring Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck's returns as Batman. Still, in a post-Zack Snyder world, the franchise has been making a concerted effort to introduce younger and more diverse heroes, such as Leslie Grace's Barbara Gordon a.k.a. Batgirl.
Another one of those superheroes will be Blue Beetle, a Latinx teenager named Jamie Reyes who gains his powers after bonding with an alien scarab. Development of the live-action film began in 2018, with Scarface remake writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer penning the screenplay and Charm City Kings helmer Angel Manuel Soto later joining as director. In the summer of 2021, Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña was cast in the lead role. Recently, the Blue Beetle movie began filling out its cast with What We Do In The Shadows star Harvey Guillén, Belissa Escobedo as Jamie's younger sister, and Bruna Marquezine as the female lead and Jamie's love interest.
Now, The Wrap reports that Blue Beetle is adding more names to its cast. The most notable newcomer is Lopez who will play the role of Uncle Rudy. Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carillo, and Damian Alcazar have also joined the project. They will round out the rest of the Reyes family as Nana, Rocio, and Alberto respectively.
Of all the actors to join the cast of Blue Beetle so far, Lopez is undoubtedly the biggest name of the bunch. He is best known for his eponymously-titled ABC sitcom which, along with his stand-up comedy, frequently examines Mexican-American culture and race relations. Lopez played the patriarch of his fictional family on the sitcom, so it makes sense he will fulfill a similar purpose for the Reyes family, as family dynamics appear to be a major element of Blue Beetle's story. Though Lopez isn't the only notable name joining the Reyes family. Barraza is an Academy Award-nominated actress for her performance in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's 2006 film Babel starring Brad Pit and Cate Blanchett.
These recent castings act as another indication that DC's Blue Beetle remains committed to casting Mexican and Mexican-American actors to portray the multigenerational Reyes family. Director Angel Manuel Soto has indicated this is a major priority to maintain the movie's authenticity and the studio is clearly backing the approach. Like Batgirl, Blue Beetle was originally conceived as a straight-to-streaming release on HBO Max, though these plans were scrapped in favor of a theatrical release on August 18, 2023, though considering DC's recent reshuffling to their release slate, this date could be subject to change.
Source: The Wrap