“I could feel the suit hugging me”: Xolo Maridueña Went Through Torture Because of ‘Blue Beetle’ Suit But Luckily It Had Hidden Zippers
Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle is finally here as DC Studios looks to end their summer on high after a string of flops in recent times.
The movie directed by Angel Manuel Soto hasn’t really made a bumper entry at the box office but has managed to usurp Greta Gerwig’s Barbie from the top position at the box office by earning $25.4 million in North America. The Margot Robbie starrer fell to the second position after four-brilliant weekends.
However, the movie has made a good impression in front of critics and has attracted a fresh rating of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes. The script which sees a Latino superhero take center stage for the first time in a live-action Hollywood superhero movie is showing all the signs of becoming a cult favorite. The casting isn’t the only unique aspect of the movie. Even Blue Beetle’s suit is getting lauded – but for very different reasons.
How Hidden Zippers Saved the Day for Xolo Maridueña on Blue Beetle’s Set
Xolo Maridueña plays the role of Jaime Reyes, who transforms into the superhero Blue Beetle upon getting his hands on the alien scarab. He’s bestowed with an incredible suit of armor – the source of his new extraordinary powers.
The basic plot should be enough to understand the sheer importance of Blue Beetle’s costume. And DC Studios left no space for any error in building it. Oscar-winning costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo worked on it and revealed that it took a long time to develop and “1,500 sketches”.
“I could feel the suit hugging me. I could feel the pinchers on my sides,” Maridueña gave his thoughts on the suit.
The concern with most superhero costumes isn’t if they would be able to sustain blows from villains (CGIs do this job for them more often than not) but rather it’s ensuring the lead actor doesn’t find it hard to use the bathroom on the set. To tackle the issue, Rubeo came up with an innovative idea, adding secret zippers strategically for the Cobra Kai kid to relax.
“We had to consider rapid bathroom break solutions. So there were hidden zippers that went in strategic places for a quick release,” she told Variety.
In a separate interview, Maridueña revealed he has been told that as the franchise generally progresses the suit keeps getting better and becomes more easily accessible to go to the bathroom. In that case, we hope the 22-year-old swiftly gets to do the next installment.
Will Xolo Maridueña Get Another Blue Beetle Movie?
On the topic of another installment, nothing has been made official by DC Studios’ co-CEO James Gunn about Blue Beetle 2.
When asked to give his insight on a sequel, director Soto said a lot depends on how much money his first take on the Marvel comics superhero makes.
“The way the machine works, the [first] movie needs to make money for them to put more money in, but for us, we’ve always seen it that way… We love the story so much,” he told Yahoo.
However, there’s a good possibility that Maridueña will get to reprise the role in the DCU, as Gunn confirmed that Blue Beetle will be the first DCU character. Well, in that case, we can’t wait to see how good (and comfortable) the Latin star’s next suit would be.
Source: Variety
