/credit: Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Discovery underwent a severe regime change that led to numerous layoffs, canceled projects, and content purging from their streaming service, MAX last year. This culling was due to a consistent pattern of box office failures. Nothing better exemplified this than the disjointed path of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). However, Ángel Manuel Soto’s Blue Beetle accomplished what no DCEU or even MCU movie has been able to achieve since the superhero genre became the dominant force in Hollywood.
Ángel Manuel Soto has been candid about his experience with his first major studio project. He stated he did not even want to make Blue Beetle at first because he originally went to Warner Bros. to pitch a DC villain movie. Soto would continue his refreshing honesty by disclosing that he was not even sure that Blue Beetle would see the light of day. The new heads of Warner Bros. Discovery chose to hit the reset button on DC when they hired James Gunn and Peter Safran to be the CEOs of DC Studios. This resulted in many active projects being scrapped, like Batgirl, and Blue Beetle was also being developed during this transition.
However, once Gunn screened the initial footage, he decided to anoint Jaime Reyes as the first superhero of the new DCU. The breakout director expressed that this news was a relief as, “All of this effort was not going to die during this regime change.” Even though Blue Beetle has not churned out Barbie-like box office figures, its slower start is gradually changing as good reviews and world-of-mouth have made this a sorely needed win for Warner Bros. and DC.
Most blockbuster superhero movies are costly endeavors that have bloated budgets, long shoot days and multiple reshoots. Black Adam (2022) took four months to shoot, had a budget of $190 million, with $70 million extra in reshoots. The movie would top out at a disappointing $384 million that included poor reviews and underwhelming fan reactions. Shazam: Fury of the Gods (2023) would be more of the same. It also took four months to film with a $125 million budget and an added $100 million for marketing. Yet, the movie was also considered to be one of the weakest DCEU installments.
Unlike its predecessors, Soto disclosed that Blue Beetle took only eight weeks (57 days) to shoot with only two days of reshoots. He joked that romantic comedies take longer. The movie functioned on a $104 million budget, which is low by superhero franchise standards. Yet, Soto’s indie movie background, along with a tight script served them well logistically as the production team was able to attain what no other big budget superhero movie has done previously. Blue Beetle is currently in theaters.
What do you think of this revelation? Should more studios follow suit? Or was this a fluke?