Blue Beetle star Xolo Maridueña recently explained the physical transformation he undertook to convincingly portray the film’s title character, Jaime Reyes.
During an interview with Variety — that was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike — Maridueña joked that he weighed “90 pounds with a wet T-shirt on” before being cast as Jaime. Once he actually got the role, the actor hit the gym, bulking up to about 130 pounds. He then added “25 to 30 pounds of muscle” by lifting weights and doing martial arts. “A lot of it was just eating the right amount,” he admitted.
Who is the Blue Beetle?
Created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hammer, Jaime Reyes first appeared in Infinite Crisis #3, published by DC Comics in February 2006. He is the third character to assume the mantle of Blue Beetle after Dan Garrett and Ted Kord.
Warner Bros. and DC began working on a Blue Beetle film in 2018, with Maridueña being cast as the title character in August 2021. Director Ángel Manuel Soto has stated that Maridueña was his first choice to portray Jaime, having enjoyed his performance in the Netflix Karate Kid sequel series, Cobra Kai.
In Blue Beetle — which is the penultimate installment in the DC Extended Universe — recent college graduate Jaime Reyes comes into contact with an ancient alien device known as The Scarab. After bonding with the artifact, he is forced to use his newfound powers to defend his family against the might of Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon) and her company Kord Industries, who is looking to reclaim the Scarab for themselves.
The ensemble cast also includes Bruna Marquezine as Jenny Kord, George Lopez as Rudy Reyes, Adriana Barraza as Nana, Belissa Escobedo as Milagros Reyes, Elpidia Carrillo as Rocio Reyes, Damián Alcázar as Alberto Reyes, Raoul Trujillo as Ignacio Carapax/OMAC, and Harvey Guillén as Dr. Sanchez, with Becky G as the voice of the alien Scarab, Khaji-Da.
Blue Beetle is currently playing in theaters.
