'Blue Beetle' director Angel Manuel Soto reveals the importance behind his Palmera City
A hero's origin story starts in their hometown, where their environment shapes them into the superheroes they will become. Gotham City gave Batman his tragic backstory. Superman is initially a misfit in the hustle and bustle of Metropolis after growing up in rural Smallville. Wonder Woman hails from the tough-as-nails, all-woman-led island of Themyscira, where she learned to fight and become a fearless leader. In the latest DC superhero movie, Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) is no exception. And the setting to his story is one of the crucial details that makes this new-to-the-big-screen hero stand out.
As teased in comics earlier this year, Jaime Reyes, aka Blue Beetle, now calls Palmera City home, a departure from his character's previous ink-drawn origins in El Paso, Texas. This make-believe city looks like a version of Miami — shiny and new, glimmering above a warm beach — but with an airport that resembles the glossily revamped LaGuardia in New York City, greenery that looks like it could be Puerto Rico, and rolling hills that recall California more than Florida.
In an interview with Mashable, Blue Beetle director Angel Manuel Soto revealed that the movie production was already creating Jaime's new home when he came aboard, but that for him it was crucial to acknowledge the character's history.
Blue Beetle's setting found inspiration in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico.
"We still wanted to make it feel like [an] El Paso [that] is very much a part of a mega city," Soto said of his superhero's hometown. "We did our research. We traveled there, and I went there to capture the look and feel."
Fans of the series and those familiar with Mexican American culture and El Paso might recognize a few more Easter eggs in Blue Beetle. Soto pointed out the adobe architecture of the Reyes' home, which sits on – where else? – El Paso Street.
Inside the family abode, Soto and his team included items seen in other El Paso homes, like images of La Virgen de Guadalupe, a cobija de tigre, and warm color palettes. A few El Paso buildings dot the Palmera City skyline. "Even though the character might have left El Paso, El Paso did not leave the family," Soto said. "We really wanted to take that journey of the Reyes family, and tell the immigrant story of travelers that stayed together and kept their history and culture strong."
Originally from Santurce, Puerto Rico, Soto blends a bit of his background with this Blue Beetle. On the surface, Palmera City bears little resemblance to El Paso, with many more palm trees and luscious greenery than the arid desert climate of West Texas. As the story moves on, the audience sees beyond the Downtown Miami-chic meets Blade Runner-hybrid of skyscrapers and towering neon signage. Where Jaime lives is a place called Edge Keys, a working-class neighborhood across the water from Palmera City – the "other side of the tracks" as Jaime's younger sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo) describes it.
The residents — many who are Latine like the Reyes family — are being displaced by wealthier companies looking to expand, like the nefarious Kord Industries, run by warmonger CEO Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon)
Blue Beetle exposes the evil of gentrification.
This reflects the story of rapid gentrification that's playing out across the country thousands of times a day, from wealthier mainland developers pushing Puerto Ricans out of family homes to landlords raising rents so high that businesses close and people leave. Part of what makes the Reyes family so believable — super-powered scarab fueled by ancient technology notwithstanding — are the real-world issues they face. "We wanted our family to exist in real life, so that we can connect with them more," said Soto. "We wanted to ground it and make it intimate and personal."
"That's one of the flavors that we added when I came in," said Soto of the Reyes family's initial problems. "How can we really make it feel like it is the motive of why Jaime needs to stop doing what he was doing with his career? [It's why he needs to] be a hero himself and step up to the plate and provide for the family. Those sort of things we all can relate to — like that threat of displacement – of gentrification. It is the villain that threatens us every day."
Soto brings Blue Beetle home in a personal way.
While Miami and El Paso were inspirations for Palmera City — and both are known for thriving Latine communities — Soto was also able to to bring a bit of his own origin story to Blue Beetle by shooting the DCEU film in Puerto Rico. The opportunity allowed him to bring in longtime collaborators who have worked with the director since his short films days.
He called the experience of bringing his first big movie to Puerto Rico "a dream come true." Even though Jaime is not from Puerto Rico, Soto said he can already see his influence as a Latine DC superhero on the big screen with his own adventure.
"It inspired a lot of kids from communities like my own to see that other avenues of life are possible," Soto explained. "It’s very humbling to know that not only can people see Puerto Rico represented and immortalized as the landscape of this new city in the DC world, but also see that we can do great things when we come together."
"It's something that everybody on the island took to heart," Soto said. "It wasn't my movie, it was their movie."