Inde Navarrette Already Proved She’s The Perfect Choice To Play Rogue
The casting for Marvel's upcoming 2028 X-Men movie already gives the reboot a very different feel from the movies that came before it. At D23, Kevin Feige confirmed Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Maya Boyd as Storm, Christopher Abbott as Professor X, and Inde Navarrette as Rogue, with Adam Driver joining the cast as Mister Sinister.
Of all those choices, Navarrette's casting may be the one that gives Marvel the most room to redefine a character audiences already think they know. Anna Paquin's interpretation in the Fox movies was younger and largely defined by her fear of hurting people. The animated version of Rogue, voiced by Lenore Zann, is much closer to the character many comic book fans recognize.
She's confident, funny, flirtatious, Southern, and extremely powerful. Some fans have already decided to stupidly debate whether Navarrette can pull off Rogue's Southern accent, which seems like a strange thing to focus on since the actress they consider the gold standard for portraying Rogue is Australian by birth and a current resident of Canada.
It's actually Rogue's powers that make her difficult to play. She can absorb another person's life force, memories, emotions, and abilities through physical contact every time she uses her powers. And some of the people she absorbs leave behind much more than a temporary boost in strength. That's where Navarrette's casting becomes particularly interesting.
Navarrette Has Already Played A Character Similar To Rogue
Her performance as Nikki in Obsession (2026) required her to play a character whose behavior, emotions, and personality are overtaken by something out of her control. Nikki is frightening at times, but the movie also makes sure we know she's trapped inside what's happening to her. And Navarrette manages to portray all of that inner conflict. Rogue requires essentially the same trick.
Rogue's mutation has always been more complicated than simply borrowing someone's life force. The effects also tend to become more pronounced the longer the contact lasts. That makes her one of the more dangerous mutants in the Marvel Universe. In the Avengers Annual #10 (1981), Rogue permanently absorbs Carol Danvers' powers and psyche.
Trapped with another person's memories and personality inside her own mind, the story focuses on whether Rogue can remain herself while carrying around part of someone else. That's something Obsession gave Navarrette a strong foundation for since she spends most of the movie playing a woman whose actions no longer belong entirely to her.
The audience has to understand that the frightening person in front of them is still Nikki. But the performance only works if both things are visible at the same time. If the version of Rogue Marvel is bringing to the big screen is dealing with internal personality conflicts, the movie needs an actress who can believably negotiate with the pieces of other people that have become part of her.
‘Obsession’ Proves Navarrette Can Make Rogue’s Internal Fight Visible
The bedroom scene in Obsession is probably the clearest example of what Navarrette could bring to Rogue. Nikki watches Bear while he's sleeping, then moves around the room in a way that immediately feels off. When he reacts to odd behavior, Nikki becomes increasingly distressed as the scene moves between threatening behavior and genuine emotional pain.
The coolest thing about Navarrette's portrayal of Nikki is that she manages to hold onto her character's core personality underneath the erratic behavior. She is angry, frightened, desperate, and confused, sometimes within the same sequence. Navarrette has to communicate that conflict largely through her physical performance, which is particularly relevant to Rogue.
When Rogue absorbs somebody else's memories or emotions, she doesn't suddenly become a completely different person. Those feelings become tangled up with her own. The character can be angry or overwhelmed without losing the sense that she is still Anna Marie underneath it all. And just like Nikki, Rogue's internal struggle happens without anyone knowing what's happening.
Then there are the moments when the real Nikki manages to break through what has happened to her. Instead of making the audience uncomfortable, she has to make them feel trapped alongside Nikki. That may be the most useful experience Navarrette brings to Rogue. Whether Marvel actually gives her the opportunity to bring that intensity to Rogue remains to be seen.
