Although Academy Award-nominated Mexican costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo (Jojo Rabbit) had created superhero looks before, her experience on the set of Blue Beetle was much different.
With projects like Thor: Love and Thunder, WandaVision, and Werewolf by Night, Rubeo had an in-house team to help her with designs, something she didn’t have for Blue Beetle. According to Variety, however, the process for the new film included a bit more legwork. “It took a long time to develop,” Rubeo said. “I did 1,500 sketches.”
Luckily, Rubeo wasn’t alone. Director Ángel Manuel Soto stepped in to assist her in many of the design decisions. “I designed that costume entirely with the help of my illustrator,” Rubeo said. “Ángel was so involved.” Rubeo also credits Jose Fernandez, CEO and founder of Ironhead Studios, for the work he and his team contributed to the Blue Beetle costume, which included taking 3-D body scans of actor Xolo Maridueña.
This Mexican-American designer also has an exceptional career and has overseen the costumes for Batman and Robin, Fantastic Four, and X-Men United.
“We used Eurojersey, a high-quality warp-knit fabric that stretched over his body,” Rubeo said. “It grabbed every inch of his body and showed everything, so we put an undersuit to cover things up.”
The process to get into the Blue Beetle costume, according to Maridueña, took between 40-50 minutes because it was made up of several complex pieces. He described the suit as “pretty comfortable” but looked forward to getting another version that was “more easily accessible to go to the bathroom” – if they end up doing a sequel.
“We had to consider rapid bathroom break solutions,” Rubeo said. “So, there were hidden zippers that went in strategic places for a quick release.”
Fernandez was also key in helping with the scarab on the back of the superhero suit. They had to figure out how to keep the arms secured without them easily popping up when Maridueña was acting in a scene. In the end, the arms were made of 3D-printed pieces and metal parts. He also said, “We had molded cast and magnets. It’s a lot of pieces that went into just being able to help him get it on and off.”
Together they created a unique suit that helps define who Jaime Reyes is in his debut live-action movie.
Blue Beetle is now in theaters.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Blue Beetle being covered here wouldn’t exist.