Well, if there was any question whether Inde Navarrette was about to become one of Hollywood’s biggest new stars, I think we can put that to rest.
After an absolutely insane breakout year thanks to Curry Barker’s Obsession, Navarrette has officially joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Rogue in Marvel Studios’ upcoming X-Men.
The news was announced last night at D23, where Marvel unveiled its new generation of mutants, with Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Christopher Abbott as Professor X, Maya Boyd as Storm, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, and Adam Driver as Mister Sinister. Thunderbolts* filmmaker Jake Schreier is directing, with the film dated for May 5, 2028.
But let’s talk about Navarrette, because what a fucking year.
Obsession became one of those genuine out-of-nowhere horror phenomena, transforming a tiny independent production into a global box office monster and making Navarrette’s Nikki one of the year’s most recognizable new horror characters.
Since then, Navarrette has been everywhere, from major advertising campaigns to seeing her Obsession character invade Halloween Horror Nights this fall. And now she’s Rogue.
Navarrette had previously been attached to Invertigo, a survival thriller from the producers of Fall about a group of young people trapped hundreds of feet in the air on a malfunctioning roller coaster. We reported on that project earlier this year, although things have been pretty quiet on that front since.
Whatever happens there, it’s safe to say her career just entered an entirely different stratosphere.
And I love this casting.
Rogue is one of the great X-Men characters, a mutant whose ability to absorb another person’s memories, powers, and life force through physical contact makes something as simple as touching another human being potentially deadly.
Which makes Navarrette’s transition from Nikki to Rogue particularly funny for those of us still obsessed with her breakthrough horror role.
This time, if you try to touch her, you die.
Navarrette also joins a long tradition of performers who used horror as an early launching pad toward enormous careers. Jamie Lee Curtis had Halloween. Johnny Depp had A Nightmare on Elm Street. Jennifer Aniston had Leprechaun. Patricia Arquette had A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. Anya Taylor-Joy broke through with The Witch. And Kevin Bacon was memorably dispatched in the original Friday the 13th early in his career.
Whether Navarrette continues returning to horror remains to be seen. I certainly hope she does. But right now, it feels like we’re watching another genre star graduate into the big leagues in real time.
From a tiny horror movie to one of Marvel’s most coveted mutant roles in the span of a year.
Inde Navarrette is our Rogue.
That’s a pretty fucking great choice.
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