Marvel's New Rogue Dropped 'X-Men' Casting Hints 1 Month Before the Official Reveal [Exclusive]

Inde Navarrette's performance in Obsession makes her casting as Rogue one of the most compelling additions to Marvel's upcoming X-Men. As Nikki, she plays a woman whose control over her own body and relationships is taken away by someone else's wish. The role demands that she remain recognizable beneath the movie's increasingly disturbing physical horror, giving the audience a reason to fear for her even when Bear fears her.

Rogue presents a different challenge, but her story also places bodily autonomy and intimacy at its center. Her ability to absorb another person's powers and memories through touch makes physical affection dangerous, complicating the connections she wants to build. For Navarrette, the move from Nikki to Rogue offers another role in which extraordinary circumstances intrude on something as personal as deciding how to be close to someone.

Speaking with Collider's Maggie Lovitt during the awards campaign for Obsession, Navarrette was asked whether she already knew she had landed Rogue when she publicly discussed wanting to play Mystique in July. "I did know, but that wasn't a lie," she said. "I love Marvel and specifically X-Men. That is my crack."

Inde Navarrette Was Dropping Hints About Rogue Before Her 'X-Men' Casting Announcement

Mystique is a particularly interesting name to bring up given her relationship with Rogue in the comics. As Rogue's adoptive mother, she is a major figure in her history, with their relationship extending well beyond which side of a fight they happen to be on. Those family ties give the two characters plenty of shared history for readers to work with. Navarrette's answer also touched on the earlier X-Men movies and Rebecca Romijn's portrayal of Mystique. "And so, growing up, I watched a lot of the films, and I have always loved Mystique," she said. After Romijn's name came up, she continued:

“The way that that character is, it's so complicated, and it's so nuanced when you have the originality of the story. Her and Rogue are also very similar, you know what I mean, if you've read the comics. So I was not lying. I was dropping hints, and I was like, 'If anybody's picking up what I'm putting down?', but nobody did.”

For now, Navarrette has Obsession behind her and a very different franchise ahead. Barker's horror movie gives Nikki's story a devastating physical component, something that also comes with the territory when playing a mutant who absorbs other people's powers and memories through touch. The circumstances are different, but both characters need an actress who can make the person underneath those frightening abilities matter. "But I love Mystique, dude," Navarrette added. "Oh my God, love her." As for those earlier comments, she said, "So it wasn't a lie, but it was a little like a rabbit in the hat situation."

Marvel's X-Men is scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 5, 2028. Stay tuned at Collider for the rest of Lovitt's conversation with Navarrette.