In a new piece from the Los Angeles Times, it's confirmed that Angel Manuel Soto's Blue Beetle movie is one of the mid-budget DC Comics projects skipping theaters and heading straight to HBO Max.
Batgirl will also premiere on the streaming service, though The Batman, Black Adam, and Aquaman 2 are set to remain exclusive to theaters (it's thought that Warner Bros. will move away from day-and-date debuts on HBO Max for its theatrical slate in 2022). There have been three versions of Blue Beetle over the years, though this movie is set to put the spotlight on Jaime Reyes.
Having a diverse lead is obviously a big deal for a major superhero franchise, and fans have expressed a lot of anger and disappointment online that Jaime is being relegated to HBO Max. The feeling is that Blue Beetle is a character who deserves to be seen in theaters, but Warner Bros. clearly doesn't agree. That's a shame, but it sounds like the studio is still taking these movies seriously.
"HBO Max presents a huge opportunity for DC," says Warner Bros. Pictures Group Chairman Toby Emmerich. "It allows us to make high-quality mid-budget superhero movies that reintroduce lesser-known DC titles, while also crossing over stand-out characters from our bigger films into original series."
"Connecting the DC cinematic universe with Max gives our fans more ways to explore the DC multiverse and more chances to enjoy more great stories with these beloved characters," he continued. "One of the first examples of a stand-out character crossing over from film to Max is the 'Peacemaker' series, which is a spin-off from James Gunn’s 'Suicide Squad 2.'"
It's certainly an interesting approach, and one that may or may not pay off for Warner Bros. At the very least, it seems the DC Extended Universe is about to expand in a huge way moving forward...
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