Jennifer Garner Is Reportedly Back As Elektra In 'Deadpool 3' And The Possibilities For This Movie Are Pretty Much Limitless
This blog topic triggered acid flashbacks to drama school and going down a rabbit hole of Greek tragedy. Electra is one of the most iconic characters in theatre history. While the main inspiration for Marvel's antihero Elektra Natchios didn't necessarily derive from that ancient role, her origins were in Greece and, yes, they were tragic.
Anyway point being, I can only imagine the lengths to which Deadpool 3 star Ryan Reynolds and the creative team can viciously satirize the part played by Jennifer Garner in her pre-Marvel Cinematic Universe run as Elektra. First appearing in the Ben Affleck-led Daredevil, Garner got her own solo spin-off film. Not very well-received, that. But not really her fault. It was nevertheless significant that a female hero was leading a comic book movie all the way back in 2003. That was also before the MCU was a well-oiled machine that churned out hit after hit after hit. Cut Garner some slack!
Only now...the MCU has grown stale. I was watching Secret Invasion the other day and...it's decisively "mid" as the kids say these days.
Kingsley Ben-Adir is one of my favorite actors on the planet. He's the main villain. That alone got my hype levels up. I wish they gave him more to do. At least in theory, Secret Invasion's premise is a unique twist on the typical MCU formula. How it's still so stale despite sporting elements of espionage/secret societies/shape-shifting reptilians/etc. is beyond me. I don't get it. I sat there helplessly watching two powerhouse actors in Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn slog their way through an in-car scene where they talk about humans and dogs and how no other interspecies relationship involves one cleaning up the other's poop.
YIKES, MAN. SEND HELP.
Every time I think the MCU is doing something cool and different, they pump out another mid show. It just reinforces some of the issues the WGA is railing against amid the ongoing writers' strike. Shorter-staffed writers rooms. Tighter deadlines. Higher demand from streamers for more content. It's turned into quantity over quality unfortunately. Like, Secret Invasion is competent and fine…but it should be better. Much better. Especially given the talent involved.
Saying all that to say, I can't WAIT for Deadpool 3. Because Deadpool doesn't give a single fuck. It seems like Disney is getting out of the way and letting Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson be himself. Bringing back actors like Garner to play into the rumored multiverse storyline only adds to my excitement about the project. I'm confident this will look, feel and be wildly different than any of the recent MidCU offerings of late.
I know a shit ton of money was involved, yet it's so encouraging to me that Reynolds convinced Hugh Jackman to return as Wolverine. They must have something special cooking. For Garner to sign on, two decades removed from playing Elektra, it must mean that there's a great and hilarious angle for her to dive into the character again.
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What's most exciting about Deadpool entering the MCU and starring in this new movie is that literally no character is safe. From Garner's Elektra, to Affleck's Daredevil, to all the former Fox X-Men, anyone is fair game to be used in any which way. The same actors could play totally different versions of the same character. They could be entirely different heroes. Any one of them could be killed off at any given second.
Granted, those tantalizing possibilities are precisely what's led to the lameness of a lot of recent multiversal movies and projects. However, a multiverse plot is the perfect vehicle for someone like Deadpool. He can crack jokes at how ridiculous it is, criticize the shortcomings of Deadpool 3's predecessors and, in all likelihood, tell a more original, compelling and superior story than all the MCU's prior efforts.
This turned into a much bigger-picture blog than I intended. Let's just be grateful we have this scene from the OG Daredevil:
By the way, I really hope Disney+ doesn't fuck up the Charlie Cox-led revival of the hit Netflix series. Well, not revival. More like barely-alternate-universe reboot. The third and final season of Netflix's Daredevil show is one of the best pound-for-pound seasons of TV I've ever seen. Murdock boxing pun intended.
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Check out Robbie and Clem breaking down the latest 'sode of Secret Invasion