The Blue Beetle movie villain's armor was unveiled by Funko Pop merchandise. The figure previews the main physical threat to Xolo Maridueña's Jaime Reyes in the DC film.DC's Blue Beetle follows Jaime Reyes, a college graduate who returns home and is chosen to be a symbiotic host to a biotechnological relic known as the Blue Beetle Scarab. Consequently, Reyes is bestowed with powers derived from the scarab's exoskeleton armor, putting him on the radar of Susan Sarandon's Victoria Kord, a businesswoman who wants the scarab for her purposes. While Sarandon's Blue Beetle character is expected to be the film's main villain, Reyes will likely face a more physical threat from Raoul Max Trujillo's Conrad Carapax. In the comics, Carapax is a rival of the original Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett. While searching Pago Island for whatever Garrett was seeking before his death, Carapax discovers a lab with a mechanical robot. When Carapax tries to activate the robot, it malfunctions and fatally electrocutes him. However, Carapax's mind is transferred into the robot, making him the Indestructible Man. Funko Pop box art posted by JonFunkos/Twitter (via theclonecr7) gives fans a glimpse at Carapax's armor in the Blue Beetle movie, which resembles Jaime Reyes' exoskeleton armor more than the Indestructible Man from the comics.
With Shazam 2 bombing and The Flash on track for an underwhelming box office debut, some fans wonder if Blue Beetle can succeed. A strong villain is arguably the key to any comic book movie's success, so Carapax and Sarandon's Victoria Kord must meet fan expectations if Blue Beetle is to be a hit with fans. However, some fans wonder if the quality of the film matters. Because Blue Beetle is one of the last DC films before James Gunn's new DC Universe launches, fans wonder if the film's characters or events will be transferred into the new continuity or if they will be erased when The Flash reboots the DCEU. Shazam 2 arguably bombed because audiences didn't see the point of watching a movie that could soon be erased from DC movie continuity, and Blue Beetle could suffer the same fate.
On the other hand, Blue Beetle might be more important to DC's future than fans realize. Gunn reportedly plans to bring Blue Beetle into the new DCU, but it's unclear if Maridueña would be joined by his castmates. Because The Flash reportedly reboots the outgoing DC Extended Universe, Gunn could bring back certain actors and characters while jettisoning others from the same movies or shows. Time will tell what happens; it likely depends on how Blue Beetle performs.
Blue Beetle is scheduled to be released in theaters on August 18, 2023.
Source: JonFunkos/Twitter (via theclonecr7)