With everyone talking about The Flash it’s been pretty easy to forget that Blue Beetle is on the way, but it’s back in the spotlight with the reveal of Harvey Guillén’s (What We Do in the Shadows) role in the movie.
Guillén will play Dr. Sanchez, an underling of Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon). Blue Beetle tells the story of college student Jamie Reyes (Xolo Maridueña), who lives with his family in Palmera City and comes across a mysterious piece of otherworldly tech than transforms him into the super hero.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Guillén revealed what drew him to the the movie and the character.
“When I read the script, it was the first time that I felt that I could get through a whole movie and feel seen,” Guillén explained. “The verbiage that’s being used in the household, it is very driven by family and heart at the forefront of everything, which is very Latino culture.”
Other cast members in the movie include sister Belissa Escobedo (Hocus Pocus 2), father Damían Alcázar (Narcos), nana Adriana Barraza (Cake) and comedian George Lopez as his uncle. Guillén said the family in the movie reminded him of his own family and how they used to act toward each other.
“I just read that script and I was like, ‘Wait, I grew up watching or listening to this.’ ‘That’s exactly what my mom would say [or] my tía,'” Guillén said. “Everything has been thought out, while still telling the traditional story of this incredible DC superhero that is coming to theaters for the first time, the first Mexican superhero that we’ve had in a DC film.”
EW also provided some first looks at Guillén’s character in action.
Here he is looking heroic while Reyes is stuck in a prison cell.
“The character was complex,” he said. “You’re loyal to the profession and the job that you have, and you’re loyal to being a good person, and you have to make a choice. Sometimes we don’t make the choices. We’re human. And when given a choice, we might make the wrong one.”
Guillén played human servant Guillermo in a role that would prove to be a breakout for him in What We Do in the Shadows, going from sweater-wearing vampire pushover to confident bodyguard and money launderer, a journey that helped audiences relate to Guillermo, and that has made Guillén a fan favorite on the show.
“Everyone can see themselves in Guillermo,” Guillén told IndieWire about the role. “He’s the only human in that group. But more importantly, he’s the only one who’s going through these everyday motions that humans go through — being promoted or demoted, losing love, having a secret, having dreams, aspirations — everything that we do as humans every day Guillermo has done in the last four seasons of the story line.”
Blue Beetle lands in theaters on Aug. 18.