Elektra Lives! Jennifer Garner To Reprise Marvel Character In Deadpool 3
Did you feel that? The sensation of white, flowy curtains (some of them CGI) blowing through the room? That's the feeling of Jennifer Garner returning as Elektra, baby! Almost two decades after she put down her striking sai, the "13 Going on 30" and "The Last Thing He Told Me" star is returning to the role she first played in Ben Affleck's "Daredevil," and reprised in her own standalone movie. She's just the latest pre-Marvel Cinematic Universe star to return to a role for the third "Deadpool" film, joining Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and amid unsubstantiated rumors of many others, including Daredevil himself.
The news comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter, which reports that the film is currently in production despite the fact that the ongoing writers' strike means star Ryan Reynolds legally cannot improvise any lines as the fourth-wall-breaking Deadpool. So if his quips aren't up to snuff when the film finally comes out, be sure to appropriately direct your rage toward the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) who failed to negotiate an acceptable deal with the Writers Guild of America.
"Deadpool 3" is being directed by Shawn Levy, who recently worked with Garner on the time-travel pic "The Adam Project," also starring Ryan Reynolds. While 2005's "Elektra" was not a financial or critical success, it was one of the earliest mainstream Hollywood superhero blockbusters to be led by a woman, following 1984's "Supergirl," 2002's "The Powerpuff Girls Movie," and 2004's "Catwoman." (And in my opinion, also 1995's "Tank Girl" and 1996's "Barb Wire" but I don't have time to split hairs about what constitutes a superhero.)
'Only a warrior can come back from death'
Jennifer Garner is not the only actor to play Elektra, as Elodie Yung most recently donned the red leather as the character in the "Daredevil" series for Netflix, as well as the "Defenders" miniseries. Considering the tongue-in-cheek nature of the "Deadpool" films, it makes total sense that the Elektra the film would pursue is the one portrayed by Garner, because there are plenty of self-deprecating punchlines to be had.
The popular trend in superhero movies right now has to deal with multiverses, and it'd be a shocker if "Deadpool 3" wasn't planning to poke fun at the fad by incorporating Marvel characters from the 20th Century Studios era. One of the longstanding rumors is that Daredevil would appear in "Deadpool 3," but will not be portrayed by current actor Charlie Cox. If that's the case, the film would either bring back Ben Affleck as the character, making this yet another multiverse film where he plays a hero following his appearance as Batman in "The Flash," or cast someone else entirely.
The former would be fascinating, as Garner and Affleck were previously married and co-parent three children together. Regardless of how things shake out, "Deadpool 3" could potentially serve as a redemption story for the character. Jennifer Garner is one of the most consistently wonderful actors in Hollywood, delivering fantastic performances even if the production at hand is unworthy of her talents. Then again, as Elektra's sensei, Stick, famously said: "Only a warrior can come back from death, and even then the second life is never quite like the first."