As much as Latine audiences were excited about the first trailer for Blue Beetle on Monday (April 3), some fans were disappointed with one part of the preview.
In the first few seconds of the trailer, it is revealed that the story is set in a fictional city called Palmera City instead of El Paso, Texas, where the main character, Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña), calls home in the original comic book.
Director Ángel Manuel Soto (Charm City Kings) explained to the media this past weekend that they chose to set Blue Beetle in Palmera City because they wanted the DC superhero to come from a place that was unique – like Superman in Metropolis and Batman in Gotham.
“Why doesn’t Blue Beetle have his own city?” Soto said. “That doesn’t mean El Paso isn’t dope. El Paso is awesome. El Paso is very much present in the life of the family. But in service of positioning Blue Beetle as a potential leader in the DCU, Palmera City came to life. Thanks to Palmera City and the bigger world building around it, that’s what got us the theatrical [release].”
El Paso supporters weren’t very happy with the change. “Palmera City instead of El Paso?” one Twitter user wrote. “No mames, DC.”
Some El Paso natives wondered why DC couldn’t just keep El Paso as the name of Jaime’s hometown and mold it into something for the DCU. “The Blue Beetle movie isn’t set in El Paso,” one person tweeted. “It’s not even a DC-ified El Paso. They couldn’t just let us keep our hero.”
Others couldn’t tell the difference between Palmera City and El Paso. Maybe Palmera City is a different version of El Paso in the multiverse. “Blue Beetle trailer dropped, and his family’s house looks straight out of El Paso.”
We’ll have to see how DC handles Blue Beetle’s new address, but if he doesn’t make a stop inside a restaurant that looks like Chico’s Tacos, they better get ready for some more blowback from El Paso residents when the movie hits theaters this summer.