The first trailer for Blue Beetle just dropped and we’re conflicted. The trailer is really cool, but will Blue Beetle be part of the DCU moving forward or is this just going to be a one-off film? The answer probably lies in the box office receipts, but those numbers will be greatly affected by whether or not the character has a future in James Gunn’s plan for the film universe he’s creating with Peter Safran.

The film stars Xolo Mariduena as Jaime Reyes, a young man who unwittingly bonds with sentient alien armor. Along with Mariduena, the film stars George Lopez, Susan Sarandon, Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carrillo, Damián Alcázar, and Raoul Max Trujillo.

Sarandon is onboard as Victoria Kord, the sister of Ted Kord (The Previous Blue Beetle from the comics) and the CEO of Kord Industries. From the framing of the trailer, it looks like she will be the film’s main antagonist.

All in all, the film looks like a lot of fun, but if there’s one thing we are concerned about it is that they seem to be repeating the superhero family trope from Shazam. Only time will tell. Blue Beetle hits theaters on August 18, 2023.

“Recent college grad Jaime Reyes (Xolo Mariduena) returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab.”

“When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Super Hero Blue Beetle.”