Susan Sarandon will try and give the Blue Beetle a run for his money this summer. A stalwart in Hollywood — she started acting in 1970 — Sarandon has never appeared in either the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) or even the now defunct DCEU films that officially took their curtain call with The Flash. However, Sarandon didn’t hesitate to sign on and play the evil, power-hungry Victoria Kord in the Blue Beetle because of the film’s director, Angel Manuel Soto.
Sarandon said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly:
I just was so impressed by his [Soto] passion. He has this art background, so he was this nerdy fan of superheroes.
In addition to working with Soto, Sarandon was impressed by her character’s ambitions and motivations. And if being the first actor to portray Victoria Kord on the big screen wasn’t enough incentive, Sarandon was also captivated by the complex themes explored in Blue Beetle.
Sarandon also told Entertainment Weekly:
[Victoria Kord personifies] the theme of imperialism in the name of democracy. My character’s really the one who’s driving that charade in order to get wealth and uranium and what other natural resources, under the guise of making the world safe for democracy. That rang a bell. All of those themes I thought would really be fun to dabble in.
Victoria Kord is a unique character in the DC Universe as she was created as an original character for the film Blue Beetle. However, prior to the movie’s release, Kord did appear in the pages of Blue Beetle: Graduation Day No. 2 in February 2023.
Sarandon is ready to battle the Blue Beetle
Susan Sarandon plays the Blue Beetle’s (Xolo Maridueña) nemesis, Victoria Kord, in director Angel Manuel Soto’s first foray into the DC universe. And Kord has a singular focus when it comes to what she wants in life. And the leader of Kord Industries doesn’t intend to let anyone get in the way of what she wants most: power!
Sarandon said in the same interview:
Here she is, the only one who really made [the family business] her life. She has no family, she has no friends. She’s not interested in anything but Kord Industries. She doesn’t shop, she doesn’t hang out with her girlfriends. She doesn’t have a lover; if she does, it’s nobody important. So, everything has gone towards the building of power.
In addition to enjoying the chance to play her character, Sarandon was impressed by the diversity of the Blue Beetle cast. And she was also thrilled to find out that everyone involved had a passion for the material, rather than simply being involved for a payday.
Sarandon also told EW:
It means a lot to have that representation. You really felt that people were there understanding that this was a chance to do something that hadn’t happened before, which was this Latino superhero having his own movie. We didn’t have anyone who came late or was in it for the money.
Speaking of money, it — or the lack thereof — has played an ominous part in recent DC projects, whether they’ve seen the light of day or not. CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, famously took a bath when he shelved the $90-million Batgirl film that featured Micheal Keaton’s Batman.
Worst yet, The Flash was released theatrically and it absolutely tanked at the box office. And, at the time of this writing, Blue Beetle is forecast to fail, too. Soto’s film is projected to only make between $27 million and $55 million total domestically against its $120-million budget.
Blue Beetle opens in theaters on Friday, August 18.
