Images of actor Xolo Maridueña (Cobra Kai) as Blue Beetle leaked online Wednesday (May 25) from the set of the upcoming DC movie, and fans seemed to like what they saw.
Entertainment news site Just Jared posted more than two dozen photos of Maridueña from the set in Atlanta.
In the photos, Maridueña is wearing a full blue and black Blue Beetle costume. Some images feature Maridueña with a mask, and others do not. Most of the photos show Blue Beetle walking on the sidewalk, sometimes with crew members. Others picture him lying on top of a crushed orange vehicle parked on the street for a stunt scene.
Last summer, Maridueña was cast as the titular DC Comics superhero. “It’s official…I am beyond grateful to be able to fill in these enormous shoes as one of the first Latino superhero[es] on the big screen,” he posted on social media.
Since the official announcement of his casting, other Latine actors have joined the film, including: Bruna Marquezine (Vou Nadar até Você), George Lopez (No Man’s Land), Adriana Barraza (Babel), Elpidia Carrillo (Predator), Damián Alcázar (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian), Belissa Escobedo (The Baker and the Beauty) and Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows), among others.
Earlier this month, Xolo Maridueña joked online that he’d like Blue Beetle to get into a fight with Marvel’s El Muerto, who Bad Bunny will play. “Blue Beetle whoopin El Muertos ass,” he wrote on social media. “I want all that smoke daddy.”
Blue Beetle is expected to premiere in theaters on August 18, 2023.