Jennifer Garner gets new franchise in Miss Marple

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Jennifer Garner’s first attempt at a franchise failed miserably in the comic book film Elektra. Disney is hoping that lightning strikes this time as Garner will be the face of their new attempt at a franchise in Miss Marple according to Deadline Hollywood.

A longtime literary character from Agatha Christie, Miss Marple is an elderly British woman who goes around solving crimes. Spanning 12 novels, eight films and five seasons of a television show, the film will be a starring vehicle for the former Alias star and re-shaped/re-booted with her in mind.

What does this mean? Garner is a solid actress who just hasn’t found a solid franchise to call her own. She’s also not a draw at the box office yet but with the Disney machine behind her she could have a hit film to call her own. The problems come in looking at the character’s “transformation” for a new audience.

While radically changing a beloved character to suit her, from an elderly British woman to an American in her 30s, there’s plenty of potential in there for something good. And lots for bad things, too, as changing the character from a sort of elderly spinster who solves crimes to a hot, young detective type takes away from the character in the same manner that turning Twilight into a Blade rip-off would’ve. A lot of it depends on where Disney takes it from here.

It does reek of Disney taking a good formula and trying to make it “hip” instead of casting someone like Helen Mirren and keeping the franchise as is.