If you’ve been eagerly anticipating Blue Beetle‘s streaming release, I’m afraid your wait continues. We now know the DC film isn’t part of Max’s upcoming November slate, giving the feature the longest gap between cinemas and streaming of the DCEU so far.
The second last movie before the DCU relaunches under James Gunn, Blue Beetle was quite a surprise back in August. A relatively obscure DC character, the hero gave us one of the best superhero movies of the year, with Xolo Maridueña proving a more than capable lead as Jamie Reyes, the young man who becomes the titular hero after becoming attached to alien armor known as the Scarab.
Although he didn’t quite cause a stir at the box office, I genuinely think Blue Beetle will garner more fans on home media. Sadly, when that’ll be remains in question, as the action movie is nowhere to be found on Max’s November listings.
If we reach the end of November without Blue Beetle becoming part of the service, that’ll be 104 days since the US theatrical release started. That comfortably outdoes the record previously set by The Flash, which did anything but speed onto home streaming, taking 70 days to arrive on Max.
There’s always a chance of a surprise drop here. If Blue Beetle suddenly becomes available without warning, Warner Bros could generate some buzz as people rush to check out the new movie. But so far, there haven’t been any whispers of that happening, and expecting it to seems like a sure way to endure even more disappointment.
Honestly, it’s baffling that Blue Beetle isn’t on Max yet. If it was available, it’d help bridge the gap to the Aquaman 2 release date. Likewise, the delay raises concerns about internal cynicism towards the first Latino-led superhero film, and the level of support it has within Warner’s overall strategy.
Whatever the case, I hope people get to see Blue Beetle soon. It’s a charming, fun watch, as explained in our Blue Beetle review, and given the current state of DC’s output, it’s probably better than the franchise deserves at this point in time. Even a cursory glance through the DC movies in order will tell you things have been shaky the last decade.
We interviewed director Ángel Manuel Soto bout the film, who spoke about the groundswell of support from the ‘Blue Beetle Battalion’. “The fact that they’re driving this excitement, they’re taking into their own hands, they’re being creative, they’re being absurd, they’re being funny,” he said. “It just speaks to the impact that this character has to a lot of people beyond ethnic backgrounds.”
Hopefully, the battalion can rise again soon. We have guides to the upcoming DC movies and Gunn’s Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters if you want to see what else is coming, as well as Superman: Legacy, and The Batman 2 release date.