Xolo Maridueña stars as Reyes, a recent college graduate who is bestowed with an armor that grants him superpowers after being accidentally chosen by an ancient alien relic known as the Scarab.

Further casting took place in early 2022, and filming lasted from late May to mid-July at Wilder Studios in Decatur, Georgia, as well as in El Paso, Texas, and Puerto Rico.

Its box office performance was attributed to factors such as the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, the franchise's imminent reboot with the DC Universe (DCU), and Hurricane Hilary.

Meanwhile, Jaime Reyes returns to his hometown of Palmera City after graduating from Gotham Law University, only to learn that his family is facing eviction from their home due to financial difficulties.

While Jenny and the Reyes family use Ted's Bugship and its weapons arsenal to storm the island, Jaime awakens and escapes as Carapax's OMAC suit evolves into a more powerful form.

As the neighbors gather around the remains of the Reyes family's home and provide support, Jaime kisses Jenny and then offers to fly her to the Kord Estate.

Additionally, Becky G provides the voice of Khaji-Da, a sentient entity that imbues and controls the Scarab,[15] while Bobby McGruther has a voice-only cameo as Ted Kord, a previous Blue Beetle, in the mid-credits scene.

[25][26] In mid-April 2022, Soto and cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski visited El Paso, Texas, to meet with local artists, muralists, musicians, and historians to understand the feel of the city.

Soto and Dunnet-Alcocer had decided to do so by taking a grounded approach toward his character while exploring his relationship with his family and Khaji-Da, the symbiotic alien that provides Reyes's powers.

The decision to include the scene was to show that "Latinos are not a monolith", with Soto further adding that the audience would feel the warmth of Reyes' family and become familiarized with them after the first act.

[10][9] Later that month, the rest of Reyes's family was cast: George Lopez as uncle Rudy, Adriana Barraza as Nana, Elpidia Carrillo as Rocio, and Damián Alcázar as Alberto.

[40] Principal photography began by May 25, 2022,[41][42] taking place in the Atlanta metropolitan area, primarily at Wilder Studios in Decatur, Georgia,[43] using the working title Mofongo.

Given Blue Beetle's focus on family and culture, McGuire emphasized naturalistic handheld camerawork to enhance intimate moments, while still employing superhero film staples like crane shots for large-scale action.

Due to limited space, the crew relied heavily on slider-mounted cameras to allow for subtle motion without forcing actors to hit rigid marks.

[45] For the sequence where Jaime first bonds with the Scarab in his family's home, the crew primarily used handheld cameras to heighten the chaotic energy, particularly when Lopez's character is flung across the room.

[45] Filming at Castillo San Felipe del Morro in Puerto Rico proved logistically difficult, as all equipment had to be transported via a pulley system down steep stone steps.

A particularly intricate shot inside the castle required a Jimmy Jib to descend into a narrow chamber as George Lopez and Belissa Escobedo's characters searched for Jaime.

Without a prism lens, they resorted to digging a small divot in the grass—only to later discover they had inadvertently damaged a national heritage site, resulting in a $10,000 fine.

McGuire noted the importance of keeping camera movements smooth for VFX-heavy shots, opting for remote heads instead of handheld work to give digital artists more stability in post-production.

[35] The Verge's Ash Parrish thought that the trailer looked "fun" and stated: "I didn't immediately roll my eyes at yet another superhero flick, so that might be a good sign DC has something decent on its hands.

Andy Behbakht, writing for Screen Rant, felt the trailer contained more action scenes than the first and focused on Jaime's relationship with the Scarab.

[61] Griff Griffin from Men's Journal felt the CGI in the trailer was better, and described the suit as being an "insectoid version of Iron Man's nanotech" from Avengers: Infinity War (2018).

The shift away from second-run and discount theaters also meant fewer opportunities for discovery, a change he found unfortunate given the film's unique cultural resonance within the Latino community.

[2][70][64] In the United States and Canada, Blue Beetle was released alongside Strays, and was projected to gross $25–32 million from 3,871 theaters in its opening weekend.

[2] The film's $43 million global opening was described by Variety as "one of the softest starts in the history of the DC Cinematic Universe",[72] which was attributed to two concurrent strikes in Hollywood, and a tepid audience awaiting the arrival of Gunn and Safran's DCU slate.

[2] Warner Bros. cited the effects of Hurricane Hilary as a reason behind the poor domestic opening, given it affected Los Angeles which was one of the film's top markets.

The website's consensus reads: "Led by Xolo Maridueña's magnetic performance in the title role, Blue Beetle is a refreshingly family-focused superhero movie with plenty of humor and heart.

"[79] Odie Henderson of The Boston Globe gave the film 3/4 stars, calling it "a watchable time-waster made better by the actors and the cinematography by Pawel Pogorzelski.

"[81] The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey gave it 3/5 stars, calling it "a likeable, if predictable, take on the superhero origin story that at no point invokes time travel, the multiverse, or a ginormous portal in the sky.

"[82] Jake Wilson of The Age was more critical, writing, "Director Angel Manuel Soto and writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer do their best to weave a few additional progressive elements into this basically routine production, evidently aimed at younger viewers."