Villareal (Akeela and the Bee) will play Cruz De La Vega, a luchador wrestling coach with the secret superhero identity Black Scorpion in Disney Channel’s new live-action comedy series Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion. The other name in the title refers to character Violet Rodriguez, a teenager chosen by a magical luchador mask to be a superhero, just like her uncle De La Vega. Rodriguez/Ultra Violet is played by Scarlett Estevez (Bunk’d). 

De La Vega replaces Blue Demon Jr., a famous Mexican wrestler. While Disney did not explain the change, media outlets have reported the ousted luchador was accused of domestic violence just months after the series had cast him in the superhero role early in the year. The show was originally titled Ultra Violet & Blue Demon. The luchador was also dropped as an executive producer.

According to the newspaper El Heraldo de Mexico, Blue Demon Jr.’s wife Mónica Carrillo publicly accused the wrestler of spousal abuse over two decades of marriage. The publication reported Carrillo filed a complaint with authorities. The woman also said she received death threats after going public with her story on the YouTube show No Chisme Like, the newspaper reported.

The “luchador enmascarado” also got involved in politics after being cast in Ultra Violet & Blue Demon Jr. He was also reportedly running for a mayoral seat in one of Mexico City’s 16 municipalities.  

Villarreal is a budding Texas-born actor best known for his role as Javier Mendez in the 2006 family/school drama Akeelah and the Bee, starring alongside KeKe Palmer and Angela Bassett. He was later featured in the Millennium Film action-drama Bobby Z along with Paul Walker and Laurence Fishburne. His credits include indie drama Magic City Memoirs, executive produced by Academy Award-nominated actor Andy Garcia, and Paramount’s comedy Ghost Team One. Other credits include guest appearances on FX’s The Bridge, Fox’s House M.D., Lifetime’s Strong Medicine and CBS’s Ghost Whisperer as well as mainstream series like Cold Case, Without a Trace and CSI: Miami.

Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion also star Marianna Burelli (Paramedicos) as Violet’s mother, Nina; Juan Alfonso (American Princess) as Violet’s father, Juan Carlos; Brandon Rossel (Fast Layne) as Violet’s brother, Santiago; Zelia Ankrum (Les Moore) as Violet’s best friend, Maya Miller-Martinez; and Bryan Blanco (Screwball) as Violet’s classmate, Luis León.

The series also names two new executive producers, Eric Garcia and Leo Chu, who also serve as showrunners. Also executive producing is Joe Nussbaum in addition to previously confirmed Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit, a pair that collaborated in Pokémon Detective Pikachu.

Featured Photo: Disney’s ‘Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion’ stars Scarlett Estevez as Violet Rodriguez and J.R. Villarreal as Cruz De La Vega. (Credit: Disney/Brian Roedel)

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Mexican Luchadores are all the rage lately and Disney has joined the lucha libre craze with their live-action comedy entitled Ultra Violet & Blue Demon. The Disney Channel has ordered the pilot which stars Mexican professional wrestler Blue Demon Jr. and Scarlett Estevez (BUNK’D).

The series revolves around a Mexican-American girl with a special legacy family. Ultra Violet & Blue Demons has a predominantly Latino cast, with creators, executive producers, and writers who will lend authenticity to the story. The title of the Disney series includes the name of one of the most famous wrestlers in Mexico, the late Blue Demon which should delight luchador fans around the world. Blue Demon Jr., his adopted son carries on his legacy while creating his own.  

In 2008 Blue Demon Jr. became the first Mexican professional wrestler, as well as first masked luchador, to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship when he defeated the then champion, Adam Pearce.  In 2014 he appeared in Robert Rodriguez El Rey network’s television series Lucha Underground and one of the wrestlers and appeared in a cartoon version in an episode of ¡Mucha Lucha! On Kids WB.

Estevez, whose acting career started at the age of three and has a long list of credit, plays a 13 year old student dealing with the angst that is middle school. When she is selected to wear the magical luchador mask that allows her to become Ultra, she begins training with her famous Mexican wrestler uncle, Blue Demon Jr. who is also a superhero in disguise. Together they teach each other, Ultra trains with her uncle to attain her superhero status and Uncle Blue discovers he can also learn a thing or two from his modern Gen-Z niece.

“Blue Demon Jr. is a Mexican cultural icon and we are looking forward to introducing him—and the luchador mythology—to our viewers,” said Rafael Garcia, vice president, Development, Disney Branded Television. “With Violet and her family, we also have the opportunity to present an authentic Mexican American family in a series that combines humor and adventure in a unique Latinx shake-up of the superhero genre.”

The cast includes: Venezuelan actress Marianna Burelli plays Violet’s mother; Juan Alfonso as Violet’s father; Brandon Rossel is Violet’s brother; Zelia Ankrum is Violet’s best friend; and Bryan Blanco as Violet’s goody-two-shoes classmate.Blue Demon Jr. is set to co-executive produce the series alongside fellow co-executive producers Moxie 88’s Dan Carrillo Levy and Eugenio Villamar who brought the IP to Disney. Jorge Garcia Castro will also serve as a co-executive producer. The pilot episode was written and executive produced by Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit (Pokémon Detective Pikachu, One Day at a Time) and directed by Alejandro Damiani (“M.A.M.O.N.”).

— Bel Hernandez

Featured Photo” (Disney/Mitch Haaseth)

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