Protect Nana, Blue Beetle 's surprise standout, at all costs
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Even before DC fans catch Blue Beetle in theaters this weekend, they already have received glimpses of one of the film's big moments: Nana (Adriana Barraza), the abuela of Xolo Maridueña's Jaime Reyes, grabs a high-tech mega-gun, opens fire on a troupe of soldiers in the tunnels beneath an island fortress, and throws her head up to the ceiling as she gleefully cackles at all the chaos she's raining down on her enemies. It's part of a larger storyline that solidifies Nana as the surprise standout of Blue Beetle.
Director Ángel Manuel Soto is already hearing fans' pleas for more Nana in future DCU projects. "Somebody told me, I think they're trying to make a campaign to do a spin-off of Nana's backstory. Like, 'We need a Nana story spin-off!'" Soto tells EW, a couple of days before the movie's theatrical premiere. "People are asking for it, let's give it to them. We need more Nana."
Barraza, the beloved Mexican actress who was Oscar-nominated for 2006's Babel, worked with Soto to give many layers to the matriarch of the Reyes family. In a nod to the character from Blue Beetle comics, she starts off as a quiet, docile figure who's often comically seen sewing in the background as Jamie's superhero hijinks crash through their home. But later, when the stakes are raised and the entire family has to rally to save the day, she reveals herself as a force to be reckoned with.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. 'Blue Beetle' director Angel Manuel Soto demonstrates Nana's big scene to actress Adriana Barraza
Soto, who directed from a screenplay by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, wanted to use the Nana character as a way to honor the women in his life and in the larger Latino culture. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the sacrifices of the women in my life, starting with my mom and going back to my grandma," he says. "They don't need superpowers. Whatever they've done to get us to this place is a heroic act within itself."
Nana has a past as a revolutionary, which is why she feels in her element when the Reyes family starts suiting up in high-tech gear. Soto points to historical figures like Blanca Canales of Puerto Rico and the female soldiers who worked with the Zapatista Liberation Army in Mexico. "All these women who were leaders of revolutionary movements, where people think, 'Nah, that's a nana, that's a grandma. What are you so afraid of?' Boy, those are the ones you have to be most afraid of," Soto says, chuckling.
He adds of Nana, "Her life is so full of histories and memories that we don't always know all of it. So long is the backstory that goes with the legacy of our ancestors that we wanted, to some extent, represent."
Soto's approach to Nana applied to the rest of Jamie's close-knit family: Damían Alcázar as his father, Elpidia Carrillo as his mother, Belissa Escobedo as his sister, and George Lopez as his Uncle Rudy. The filmmaker was acutely aware of how often in superhero movies these side characters are relegated to being props or one-dimensional figures used as bait to motivate the hero. "It would've been a disservice to us, to our experience, if the family in our movie didn't represent the activate participation that families have in our lives," Soto states.
Warner Bros. Pictures (L to R) Elpidia Carrillo, George Lopez, Xolo Maridueña, Belissa Escobedo, and Damían Alcázar in 'Blue Beetle'
Escobedo (Hocus Pocus 2) performed one of the earliest chemistry reads for Blue Beetle. According to Soto, she had already known Cobra Kai star Maridueña and brought an energy that reminded the actor of his own sister. Alcázar (Narcos) became another early addition. "I had no plan B, no plan C. It had to be him," Soto says, calling him "probably the most important actor in Mexico right now." It then became vital for the filmmaker to include an actress like Bruna Marquezine (Maldivas), who's from Brazil, among the cast as Jenny Kord, the niece of Victoria Kord and the love interest of Jaime. "People from Brazil are often left out of the Latino conversation because they speak Portuguese, but they are as Latino as we are," he notes.
Then came Nana. "Adriana was one of those actresses where it was non-negotiable for me," Soto recalls. "I really needed her. She's been in it for a long time. She's an amazing, beloved acting teacher, too."
Two weeks before filming began, Soto made a surprise move: He had the actors playing the Reyes family put aside their scripts. As he put it, "There's no point to learn the lines if we don't believe that we are each other's roles in this story." So, he had them speak with each other and share stories. Particularly for Maridueña and Escobedo, he wanted the young stars to learn from their actor elders.
"They've been through a lot to overcome so much adversity, not just for them but also to pave the way for Latino actors to come into this realm," Soto says of Alcázar, Carrillo, Lopez, and Barraza. "When [Maridueña and Escobedo] were listening to their stories and realizing all the sacrifices that had been made and the dangers they faced in their communities, everything they left behind to be who they are, you start to witness right away this respect as you would respect an elder in your community. That respect translated to love in the film."
Blue Beetle flies into theaters this weekend.
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