Jennifer Garner just made one of the unexpected returns in comic book movie history when she reprised the role of Elektra Natchios in Deadpool & Wolverine. Sure, the Alias icon played the heroine twice in the early 2000s, but with her Daredevil spin-off earning just 11% on Rotten Tomatoes, we lived for two decades without any expectations of her flipping those sais on the big screen ever again.
And yet even the surprise resurrection of Elektra could be outdone, if the equally iconic lead of another female-fronted superhero movie from the mid-aughts gets her way and a sequel transpires. Given that the movie in question is somehow even worse off on RT than 2005’s Elektra, it would be even more of a shock if this did actually happen. But, in the crazy, ouroborous-like landscape of superhero cinema today, we’re not entirely sure we can rule it out.
Halle Berry is up for starring in Catwoman 2, on one (purr-fect) condition
Halle Berry could have made her own Deadpool & Wolverine cameo as the X-Men’s Storm, but instead it seems she’s got her eye on returning to her role in the DC multiverse instead. With 2004’s Catwoman celebrating (or maybe comisserating) its 20th anniversary this year, Berry’s recent appearance on The Tonight Show saw the topic of a potential reprisal of the feline felon come up. And the Union actress gave an unexpected response. “Maybe,” she said, when asked if she would be interested in a Catwoman sequel. “If I could direct it.”
Maybe someone should remind Ms. Berry that this is the same Catwoman that is sitting less than purr-ty at just 8% on Rotten Tomatoes. The same Catwoman that earned her a Razzie award for Worst Actress (she memorably accepted the gong while holding her Oscar for Monster’s Ball in her other hand). The same Catwoman that she once described as a “piece of sh*t, god-awful movie.” Yup, that same Catwoman. It seems Berry’s feelings towards the film — directed by the mononymic Pitof — have softened over time, as she told Jimmy Fallon that she’s glad the movie has enjoyed a surprising resurgence of support with the next generation of fans.
“What I’m happy about is… the children have found it now on the internet,” she explained. “The kids love it. So it’s so vindicating because now they’re saying, ‘It’s cool,’ and ‘What the heck was everybody’s problem with it?’ So, I’m like, ‘I’m so brat now.’” There is something tempting about the idea of Berry being allowed to redeem her earlier failure, this time with herself in front of and behind the camera — perhaps turning in something much grittier, à la her 2020 directorial debut Bruised. And yet, it has to be said: is this really what the superhero genre has come to? Dusting off the very worst of itself for a quick burst of nostalgia?
We laughed when George Clooney’s Batman came back in The Flash. We cheered when Garner appeared in Deadpool 3. But, honestly, if we’re genuinely considering a legacy sequel to Catwoman, then where — for the love of the God of Thunder — does it end? Shaquille O’Neill’s Steel joining James Gunn’s new Justice League? Kate Mara and her Susan Storm wig turning out to be the main villain of Avengers: Secret Wars? Wait, Kevin Feige, pretend you didn’t read that.