Warner Bros. and DC Films are reportedly planning to send the Blue Beetle movie straight to streaming rather than giving the DCEU movie a theatrical release.
The L.A. Times published a report about Warner Bros.’ movie plans after the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery. The report included a snapshot of the films being made exclusively for HBO Max, and listed Blue Beetle as one of the “mid-budget DC movies on the way for streaming,” along with the studio’s Batgirl project.
Warner Bros. has already made the stand since the end of last year when they left the entertainment industry shaken after announcing its plans to distribute films simultaneously on HBO Max and theaters in 2021.
Since then, their big-budget films like Godzilla vs. Kong and Mortal Kombat have helped bring in viewers to their streaming platform.
The NYT had previously reported that DC Films president Walter Hamada had stated both Batgirl and Static Shock were likely streaming releases as he mentioned that both projects fell in the $65 million budget range.
The film will focus on Mexican-American teen Jaime Reyes, the third character to adopt the Blue Beetle name.
Blue Beetle has appeared in several animated series, including Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Young Justice. The DC hero is also set to appear in a new DC animated film sometime in 2022, along with three other DC animated shorts that have been announced. All of these films are being produced by Rick Morales.
