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New Blue Beetle set images tease a crucial change from the comics. The first movie to introduce a Latinx superhero to the DCEU, Blue Beetle is being directed by Charm City Kings Filmmaker Angel Manuel Soto. Cobra Kai's Xolo Maridueña stars as Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle, a young hero who is granted a superpowered exosuit after he discovers the original Blue Beetle scarab. Initially, Blue Beetle was slated, alongside Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah's Batgirl, for a streaming-exclusive release on HBO Max. However, in December 2021, WB announced that it had secured a theatrical window for the film, scheduling it for an August 2023 release.
Currently, plot details on Blue Beetle are slim, although the movie is expected to be an origin story for Maridueña's superhero. In April, Blue Beetle cast Susan Sarandon as a new villain, Victoria Kord. Although the character isn't in the comics, her last name intrigued many fans. It seems likely that the character will be somehow related to the second Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, and the multi-billion-dollar corporation he inherited, Kord Industries. Earlier, the involvement of Kord Industries in Blue Beetle was unclear. Now, though, fans might be able to make some sense of the connection between the two.
Recently, Culture Geek PR shared some new images from the set of Blue Beetle. The photos all show off the various buildings that are in development with Kord Industries. One of them appears to be a shop, where construction is ongoing with the shutters closed. The other project is seemingly an office with glass windows that the company is either building or renovating. It appears from the images that Kord Industries specialises in real estate and construction engineering, which is a significant change from the comics.
In DC Comics, Kord Industries was a prosperous multinational research and development conglomerate that mainly produced defense products. In fact, when genius-inventor Ted took over the company, he conducted a lot of research himself, designing and manufacturing several weapons and equipment. Under Ted's supervision, Kord was one of the most philanthropic companies in the United States. However, it seems that in Blue Beetle, Kord isn't involved in making ammunition; rather, the company provides construction services and civil amenities. Previous set photos from Blue Beetle had also communicated this idea, as they showed Kord as the developer behind a luxury hotel and a provider of clean energy.
