Palmera City will be its own star in the Blue Beetle movie and we reveal if the location exists, how the character connects to El Paso, Texas, and confirm the project’s filming locations.
Susan Sarandon’s Victoria Kord is an original villain created for the movie, however, Conrad Carapax is straight from DC Comics.
Directed by Angel Manuel Soto with a screenplay by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, the superhero movie, Blue Beetle, is based on the DC Comics character of the same name, following college graduate, Jaime Reyes, who comes to possess a Scarab relic of foreign biotechnology that grants him the powers of the titular mantle.
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Is Palmera City a real place?
No, Palmera City is not a real place as the location was created specifically for the Blue Beetle movie.
The name of the city shares similarities to the pronunciation of Palmyra, an ancient city situated in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. However, there is thought to be no connection to this location.
In the first trailer for Blue Beetle, one of the first establishing shots shows a sign saying “I love Palmera City,” and we later see Jaime and Milagro sitting on a ledge in front of the city that’s ablaze with neon.
Blue Beetle is originally set in El Paso
DC fans were surprised Blue Beetle’s original comic book location of El Paso, Texas, was changed to an entirely new and fictional city.
During a press Q&A via ComicBook.com, director Soto and Blue Beetle star, Xolo Maridueña, explained the decision behind the change in location:
“To bring Palmera City to the screen is fantastic in its own regard because Jaime, as we were discussing, Blue Beetle, the vision was to have Blue Beetle be on the same level as someone like a Superman or a Batman who have Gotham or Metropolis or cities that are the beating hearts of the themes of the comics, and to create a world for Jaime and to create a world where he feels he fits was really such a humbling and honoring experience as well.”
Soto also explained that the change in location didn’t mean the crew didn’t respect El Paso:
“We introduced Palmera City as trying to put Jaime in a city that kind of like the same thing like Xolo said. Superman has Metropolis, Central City for the Flash, Gotham. Why doesn’t he have his own city? He’s f*cking dope. And that doesn’t mean that El Paso is not dope. El Paso is awesome, and El Paso is very much present in the life of the family. But in service of positioning Blue Beetle as a potential leader in the DCU, Palmera City came to life, and thanks to Palmera City as well and the bigger world-building around it is what got us the theatrical.”
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Blue Beetle filming locations
Blue Beetle was primarily filmed in Decatur, Georgia in the United States, particularly around the Atlanta Metropolitan Area within Wilder Studios.
Principle photography for the project began in May 2022 under the working title, Mofongo, and the project later wrapped in July of the same year.
Additional filming also took place in Los Angeles, California, Puerto Rico, and El Paso, Texas – the location where the comic-book character is based.
By Jo Craig – [email protected]
Blue Beetle will be released in theatres on August 18, 2023.
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