When Does the Film "Blue Beetle" (2023) Take Place?
"Blue Beetle" is a superhero film written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer with Gary Dauberman [adapting "Blue Beetle" #1-#4 v5 (2011) by Tony Bedard as well as "Infinite Crisis" #3-#7 (2005-2006) by Geoff Johns] that released August 18th, 2023. So when is "Blue Beetle" set?
It takes place on the fictional DC Films timeline in the years:
We know this because upon seeing the Scarab, Uncle Rudy Reyes asks, "Is that the new Tamagotchi?" and the Tamagotchi toy line was introduced to North America on May 1st, 1997 AD. So it must be after May of 1997 AD.
More specifically, Uncle Rudy says, "Metropolis has Superman. Central City has the Flash". In the same scene, Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle says, "It's like Batman's stuff." (To which Uncle Rudy yells, "Batman's a fascist!"). Therefore Batman, Superman, and the Flash already exist as public figures before the start of this movie. Following the timeline as laid out by previous DC live-action material, The Flash only became a public figure during the main action of "Justice League" (2017), which takes place in July of 2017 AD. (In both Flash television shows, there is no acknowledged version of Batman.) So it must be after July of 2017 AD.
~2010s AD
We know this because upon seeing the Scarab, Uncle Rudy Reyes asks, "Is that the new Tamagotchi?" and the Tamagotchi toy line was introduced to North America on May 1st, 1997 AD. So it must be after May of 1997 AD.
More specifically, Uncle Rudy says, "Metropolis has Superman. Central City has the Flash". In the same scene, Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle says, "It's like Batman's stuff." (To which Uncle Rudy yells, "Batman's a fascist!"). Therefore Batman, Superman, and the Flash already exist as public figures before the start of this movie. Following the timeline as laid out by previous DC live-action material, The Flash only became a public figure during the main action of "Justice League" (2017), which takes place in July of 2017 AD. (In both Flash television shows, there is no acknowledged version of Batman.) So it must be after July of 2017 AD.
A complete lack of mentions of the famous and tragic 2020 worldwide COVID-19 pandemic strongly suggests a February of 2020 AD cutoff.
The film's director, Angel Manual Soto, has been explicit that the movie's time setting is "pretty vague" to allow it to be retroactively placed in between later DC live-action projects. It is a chronologically midway film in the DC Films timeline and can be watched either at its timeline point or entirely separately.
Additionally, Ignacio Carapax is seen in flashback to be a child victim of the Guatemalan Civil War, which lasted from November 13th, 1960 AD to December 29th, 1996 AD in the real world. These flashbacks therefore must take place between November of 1960 AD and December of 1996 AD though they are otherwise unplaceable.
The film's director, Angel Manual Soto, has been explicit that the movie's time setting is "pretty vague" to allow it to be retroactively placed in between later DC live-action projects. It is a chronologically midway film in the DC Films timeline and can be watched either at its timeline point or entirely separately.
