How Blue Beetle's Fight Scenes Compare To Cobra Kai, According To Xolo Maridueña

DC is going through its own Crisis event, rebooting the entire franchise and introducing plenty of changes. Many of these are rather exciting, like a focus on calling attention to the comics that influence the scripts or introducing horror to the DC movies.

But one of the most exciting additions was actually announced way before Peter Safran and James Gunn came on board. I'm talking about "Blue Beetle." The first live-action solo Latinx superhero story is set to introduce Jaime Reyes, a kid from El Paso, Texas who gains superpowers from a mystical scarab that comes from outer space. In the comics, Blue Beetle has been a member of both the Teen Titans and the Justice League.

The live-action movie stars "Cobra Kai" actor Xolo Maridueña and is directed by Angel Manuel Soto ("Charm City Kings"). Maridueña is no stranger to established franchises and doing cool stunts, having played Miguel Diaz for six seasons on "Cobra Kai." Doing martial arts moves in anime-like karate gang fights on school grounds is a different beast than fighting aliens in a big-budget movie, however.

/Film's Jenna Busch attended a trailer launch event for Warner Bros.'s new DC superhero movie "Blue Beetle," with Maridueña and Soto. At the event, Maridueña talked to assembled reporters about how the movie's action will be different than "Cobra Kai."

"Our fights really feel dynamic in a way that I think other movies, action movies, superhero movies, just haven't done before," the actor teased. "And the thing is, it's out of this world, right? So the way that we've found a way to have those really awesome action sequences on the ground level, on like the neighborhood level, is immense. It's awesome."

One cool thing about Blue Beetle is that he is kind of a Batman-like character in terms of versatility, only instead of gadgets, it is his living suit that transforms and adapts.

In the TV show "Young Justice," which heavily features Jaime Reyes, Blue Beetle is the center of an intergalactic plot that involves aliens trying to take over the planet. Called The Reach, they use scarabs to infiltrate agents across the universe, becoming heroes that then turn into traitors and allow The Reach to invade. This has plenty of opportunities for a live-action movie. For one, it can introduce aliens to the DC universe that are not Kryptonians, with The Reach being a possible formidable villain that is not just another Darkseid.

Because of the otherworldly action in the film, Xolo Maridueña approached the role differently than "Cobra Kai" in one major way. "I was more than happy to step aside for the professionals for this one," he said during the press event. "Especially when you're dealing with otherworldly type stuff. Karate is one thing, and it's been a blessing for the past five years to be practicing martial arts on and off. But it doesn't get you ready for the type of stuff that they have in this movie. And my stunt double, Aki, he's a phenomenal performer, and I had no problem stepping aside to let him shine and do his thing."

"Blue Beetle" will be released on August 18, 2023.