The director of Blue Beetle, Angel Manuel Soto, went in-depth about the themes of family that permeate the DC movie.
While speaking with ComingSoon, Soto came onto the topic of family. Throughout Blue Beetle, main character Jaime Reyes often draws strength from his tight-knit family and loved ones. The filmmaker noted that this theme, which contrasts many superhero stories that involve hiding one’s identity, comes from his own experience and culture.
“We have grown to love a lot of these movies that are exciting, and the tropes are there, but they’ve always been based out of a certain individuality,” Soto stated. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The whole idea of keeping your identity a secret is for the protection of the ones that you love, so there is a reason for that existence. But there’s also another part to the story that, for us, at least — growing up in our communities — we wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are if it wasn’t for the people that came before us. It was our ancestors, our parents, our family, and our communities that have helped us get to a place of safety and a place of being able to do the things that we want to do in our lives because they care.
“That is our experience. Growing up, my community was always … if something happened to your dad — God willing, nothing happens to your dad — but if something were to happen to your dad, you have a place to sleep, you have a place to eat, you got work, you’re taken care of by the people around you. For me, it was like, “How can we celebrate one of the many things that makes our community special by including the family as part of what makes a hero?” They’re not just … we didn’t want them to be a backdrop, right? We didn’t want them to be props … So we wanted to honor our ancestors by giving them a chance to be the ones that save Jaime so that he can become the hero we want him to become.”
What is Blue Beetle’s story about?
“Jaime Reyes suddenly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology called the Scarab,” reads the film’s synopsis. “When the Scarab chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he’s bestowed with an incredible suit of armor that’s capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero Blue Beetle.”
The film is now available on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD.
