Morena Baccarin - who has playedDeadpool’s Vanessa since the first 2016 film - has appeared in a 2024DCinstallment afterDeadpool & Wolverineput the Marvel character more to the backburner. Vanessa Carlysle has a considerable history in the pages of Marvel’s comics, first appearing in 1992. That said, though the movie version of Vanessa is an endearing figure who’s crucial to the plot of the firstDeadpool, she doesn’t share the extensive history of her comic counterpart.
While the movies have adapted certain key aspects about the character - most recently that of her divorce from Wade Wilson, asDeadpool & Wolverinereveals the pair’s romance had faded - the film version of Vanessa is without much of her comic lore, relegating her to a more background figure in later releases. However, Morena Baccarin’s role in a2024 DC releaseessentially does the opposite, making her character more important over the course of the story, and raising hopes that upcoming DC projects could feature a return from the talented actor, be that inthe DC Universe scheduleor outside of it.
Morena Baccarin Appears In 2024’s Batman Unburied: Fallen City
Morena Baccarin plays a character initially known as just “Allie” inBatman Unburied: Fallen City, which released in November 2024.Fallen Citystarts off with the supposed death of Harvey Dent following he and Bruce Wayne working on plans to reform the abandoned Gotham orphanage into something that could genuinely help the city’s civilians - meaning his disappearance and suicide note immediately flag to Batman that something is afoot.
Allie has a key role from the offset as Dent’s romantic partner. Naturally, Allie also appears to be troubled by Harvey’s disappearance, and in the early parts of the show, works alongside Bruce in some of his detective work trying to uncover the mystery of what happened to Harvey, and who tried to kill him and Bruce at the very start of the series. While Morena Baccarin plays this part of the role well - and with some aspects that are similar to her role asDeadpool’s Vanessa - Allie gets even more interesting after her real identity is discovered.
Batman Unburied: Fallen City’s Villain Twist Gave Morena Baccarin The Kind Of Role She Dreamed Of For Marvel
In a November 2024 interview withThe PlaylistafterDeadpool & Wolverine, Morena Baccarin discussed the potential for Vanessa’s role to evolve going forward, specifically referencing the Marvel character becoming Copycat - a mutant with the ability to copy others' powers, which sees her be both hero and villain at points in her comic history. While the chances of Vanessa becoming Copycat in the MCU right now are unclear - as there has been no reference to this version of character starting to gain mutant powers despite three films featuring her - DC has made a version of these hopes a reality.
Batman Unburied: Fallen Cityepisode 6 closes with Allie revealing that her “true name” is Talia Al Ghul - daughter of Batman villain Ra’s Al Ghul, and a character with an extensive and complicated history with the Dark Knight in the comics. The twist makes the character have the kind of importance hoped for with Vanessa in the DC series, both in revealing she’s one of the antagonists of the story, and in setting up for her redemption, as she eventually kills her father and then sacrifices herself in order to protect Gotham’s citizens from his city-destroying plans.
Batman Unburied: Fallen City Isn’t The First DC Release Morena Baccarin Has Appeared In
WhileBatman Unburied: Fallen Cityis a notable part of Morena Baccarin’s acting history due to its proximity toDeadpool & Wolverine, it’s worth noting that this isn’t the first DC release that the actor has played a part of. It isn’t even Baccarin’s first time playing Talia Al Ghul, as the 2016animated DC movieBatman: Bad Bloodalso saw her voice the character the same year she appeared inDeadpool, providing experience in the role that’s sure to have come in handy forBatman Unburied.
Batman Unburied: Fallen Cityreleased on Spotify on August 13, 2025.
Years prior toDeadpool 3andFallen City,Baccarin appeared inGothamas Leslie Thompkins, adapting the long-time ally of Batman in the comics into the live-action show, wherein she’s a key character. As is the case with most of the cast ofGotham- especially those most directly involved in the dealings of the city’s underworld - Leslie’s role takes a wild trajectory over the course of its story, which sees her serve as both protagonist and antagonist as it unfolds.
However, even this isn’t Baccarin’s first role in DC’s assorted projects. Prior to this role, Morena Baccarin had already been in a range of other animated DCreleases, appearing as Cheetah in an episode ofBatman: The Brave and The Boldin 2011, and Black Canary throughoutJustice League Unlimitedbetween 2005-2006. This selection of superhero roles suggests promising things for the future, as - whether inDeadpoolor not - it seems as though Morena Baccarin is likely to return to the genre again down the line.
Morena Baccarin’s Superhero Acting History Makes Her A Perfect DC Universe Casting Choice
Having appeared in DC and Marvel’s superhero releases a considerable number of times over the years, it’s clear that Morena Baccarin has a talent for roles within the genre, and an interest in appearing in it, both of which logistically place her in good standing to appear in the DCU. A number of actors with prior roles in DC have already been confirmed to appear in the franchise, including actors like Viola Davis and John Cena who are reprising their DCEU roles, and names like Alan Tudyk, who is still currently alsoHarley Quinn’s Clayface.
As such, it seems Baccarin’s DC history may well only make the prospect of her appearing in the DCU more viable in some ways, as the actor has proved herself in a range of roles. Similarly, with it having been stated that the intention is for the same actors to play their DC Universe characters in both live-action and animated releases, Morena Baccarin having done both - and shown talent for voice-only roles further inBatman Unburied: Fallen City- proves there are clear benefits to casting her in the franchise.
With Morena Baccarin having been a hero, villain, and everything in between in her time in the superhero sphere, it stands to reason she’d be an ideal casting for a range of roles. Since this history gives her experience with both smaller one-off appearances and more extensive roles in long-running series likeGotham, a big or smaller character could both be perfect for her range, should both parties wish to add her to theDCUniverse’s exciting and ever-expanding cast roster.
DC Universe
The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.
