Blue Beetle Director Tackles How the Film Will Approach Spanish Language

Blue Beetle’s first official trailer was recently dropped, and it got the fans jonesing with excitement. Given that it's DC Universe’s first solo film featuring a Latino superhero, some are in the position to ask how the film will approach anything culture-related, including the Spanish language, because so far, according to what the fans have seen in the trailer, it’s predominantly English-speaking. At a trailer launch Q&A last week via LRM Online, film director Angel Manuel Soto discussed how the upcoming DC movie will showcase the authenticity of Latinx culture.

“It’s a little bit of both. There’s definitely Spanglish. I mean todo mundo habla Spanglish, right? Yo por ejemplo diría en español this is fukin cabron in Spanglish, right? But yeah, it is definitely Spanish, and just like, what happens with the first generations that are born here, English is their third language. I was born and raised on the island, but I have Nuyorican cousins. I remember with them, their parents would tell them to speak English only, just to protect them from racism and from being bullied, as if speaking English was going to change their skin color.” explained Soto.

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The director continued, “But they were trying. For better or worse, some people don’t know Spanish, other people kind of mix it in. But as far as the older generation, they do more of the Spanish things, Spanish conversation. I mean, Nana (Adriana Barraza) only speaks Spanish, and Alberto (Damián Alcázar) and Rocio Reyes (Rocio Reyes), they kind of blend in. When they want to speak from the heart, they communicate in the best way they can, or the preferred language, or the language of passion. Maybe because their first language is English, they also want to communicate with their kids. But yeah, there’s plenty of Spanish. It’s just not in the trailer because we don’t want to scare people.”

Blue Beetle, based on the DC comics of the same name, follows a recent graduate, Jaime Reyes (Xolo Mariduea), as he stumbles upon an ancient artifact called the scarab and is chosen to be its host. The scarab attaches itself to Jaime's spine, revealing a blue armored suit. Jaime decides to use his newly acquired superhuman strength abilities to protect his homeland, Palmera City, as a superhero called Blue Beetle.

Blue Beetle arrives in theaters on August 18, 2023.