Jennifer Garner is donning her Elektra leathers for the first time in twenty years, returning to the role of the Marvel assassin antiheroine for Deadpool 3, THR reveals.

The actress joins Ryan Reynolds in his fourth outing as the beloved Merc with a Mouth, with Hugh Jackman also back to play Wolverine. Deadpool 3 marks the first film that will feature any character from the stable that used to belong to 20th Century Fox.

Jennifer Garner first played Elektra in the 2003 film Daredevil, in which Ben Affleck starred as the blind lawyer and night-time vigilante. Garner then went on to solo topline with Elektra in 2005.

Exactly how Elektra and Wolverine will return is anyone’s guess, given the complicated timeline entanglements between the X-Men franchise, the Deadpool films and the mainline MCU – but given the Merc with a Mouth’s propensity for fourth wall-breaking humour, the characters’ return may just be explained away with a couple of jokes.

Shawn Levy is directing Deadpool 3, which will bring its R rating to the MCU for the very first time. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick return to pen the script, with previous drafts written by Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin.

Deadpool 3 is due to release in cinemas from May 3rd, 2024.