(Credits: 20th Century Fox)

Here is something nobody saw coming: Elektra. Yes, that Elektra is suddenly climbing the charts on Netflix Global. In case you have forgotten, it is the same 2005 Marvel spinoff that critics roasted, fans forgot, and the box office ignored. That film is now sitting comfortably among the most-watched films on OTT. Unexpected? Absolutely.

For anyone who missed it the first time (which, let’s be honest, was most people), Elektra is a spinoff from the 2003 release Daredevil.

It is based on a Marvel comic and stars Jennifer Garner as the deadly assassin Elektra Natchios. She rocks red leather, throws sais like a pro, and basically turns martial arts into an Olympic event. On paper, it sounds like a slam dunk and should’ve been too. It has the perfect recipe for it: a cool heroine, a Marvel property, and the early 2000s were the peak Jennifer Garner era. But instead, it became one of the most infamous flops in superhero history.

Back in 2005, Elektra was released with high hopes and an even higher budget. What it got was a lukewarm opening weekend. That was followed by brutal reviews and a reputation as one of Marvel’s earliest misfires. Honestly, the pacing of the film was somewhat odd. On top of that, what pissed Marvel fans off was the script that didn’t do justice to the character. The critics basically wrote it off as “style over substance”. Even die-hard Marvel fans quietly pretended it didn’t exist. Box office numbers? Let’s just say they barely covered the catering bill.

So why on earth is this movie trending in 2025? Why are people suddenly streaming something that was buried nearly twenty years ago?

Well, a couple of reasons might explain it. First, Netflix has a way of reviving forgotten titles and giving them new life. Jennifer Garner in a red costume holding sais is enough to spark curiosity. It is the classic “so bad it’s good” effect, and people want to see what all the fuss (and failure) was about.

Then there’s, of course, nostalgia. The early 2000s are back in full swing, from fashion trends to music playlists. Elektra is basically a time capsule of that era. With its flashy visuals and over-the-top fight scenes, and a soundtrack that could have lived on every teenager’s burnt CD. Watching it now feels like stepping into a Marvel museum. All that before the MCU polished everything into billion-dollar blockbusters.

And of course, there’s Jennifer Garner herself. She’s enjoying a career resurgence with new projects, which have fans digging into her filmography. Even if the movie stumbles, her performance as Elektra is committed and magnetic. Garner gave everything to the role, even if the script didn’t quite give back.

So yes, Elektra is still the messy, misunderstood Marvel spinoff it always was. But thanks to Netflix, it has found a weird second life as a curiosity binge and maybe even a guilty pleasure. Nobody expected it to rise, but here it is, climbing the charts twenty years later. Honestly, that might be the most superhero thing about it.