5 X-Men Characters Obsession Star Inde Navarette Could Play In The MCU
By Devin MeenanJuly 7, 2026 2:00 pm EST
“X-Men ’97” is back for Season 2, and you might have missed a connection between the series and 2026’s biggest Hollywood success story, “Obsession.” Michael Johnston, who played the wishy-washy lead (not hero) Bear in “Obsession,” is also the voice of the young Nathan Summers on “X-Men ’97.” Now, word is spreading that one of his co-stars may be joining the X-Men, too
Inde Navarette, who plays Bear’s crush Nikki Freeman and is transformed by his wish for her to love him, is the undisputed breakout performance of “Obsession.” There’s her expressive facial acting, with frowns and smiles horrifying equal measure; the way “Freaky Nikki” moves like something unsure of how to be human; her screaming when anything gets in the way of her new fixation on Bear; Navarette swings for the fences in every scene and lands a perfect home run streak
After “Obsession,” the door is wide open for Navarette to fulfill her wildest acting dreams. She elaborated on what some of those are in a new interview with Nylon. She wants to star in an action movie, and is also interested in appearing in an adaptation of Rebecca Yarros’ romantasy “Fourth Wing” book series. (Incidentally, /Film thinks Navarette would be perfect for the books’ lead Violet Sorrengail.) One of the filmmakers she’s met with? Jake Schreier, who is directing the upcoming “X-Men” reboot.
Marvel Studios assuredly plans the X-Men to be their new backbone post “Avengers: Secret Wars.” Casting Navarette would be a coup for that. So who should she play? If there’s one superhero franchise that has lots of compelling women to choose from, it’s “X-Men.” We broke down some X-Men roles we think Navarette would be perfect for.Â
5. Rogue
Marvel Comics
Let’s get one idea out of the way: Inde Navarette would be a great Jean Grey, and probably even better as Jean’s clone, Madelyne Pryor/Goblin Queen (if the MCU “X-Men” ever gets to Madelyne’s most famous storyline as a villain, “Inferno”). But it’s also basically an open secret that Sadie Sink will be playing Jean Grey in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” setting her up to take a lead role in the “X-Men” reboot
Not to worry, because there’s still room for Navarette to play one of the X-Men’s other most important leading ladies: Rogue, the Southern belle with a life-draining touch and a punch as strong as a freight train. Numerous casting rumors have swirled for the MCU’s Rogue, suggesting she has a part to play in Jake Schreier’s “X-Men.” Rumored actors have ranged from Margaret Qualley to Odessa A’zion, while several X-Fans have also been campaigning for Sophie Thatcher to play Rogue
Personally, I’d like to see a Rogue closer to the comics than Anna Paquin’s take; give her the Ms. Marvel powers, the abrasive attitude, and the checkered past. Rogue was a villain when she first appeared, a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Compared to the transformative performance she pulled off as Nikki in “Obsession,” playing a super-villain turned superhero is the kind of range Navarette could pull off in her sleep
Navarette’s early scenes in “Obsession,” featuring Nikki before Bear’s wish twists her, shows us the real Nikki was a friendly, confident, outgoing and kind young woman. Add a Southern accent and that’s Rogue down pat
4. Kitty Pryde
Marvel Comics
Speaking of Rogue, the original “X-Men” movies slotted her into the role of Wolverine’s (Hugh Jackman) kid sidekick. That left Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat, the girl who can walk through walls and historically the teenage POV character on the X-Men, little to do. Even when Kitty (Elliot Page) got bigger roles in “X-Men: The Last Stand” and much later in “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” she was a shadow of her comic self’s importance
Kitty could easily be the main character of an early “X-Men” film, in a way that condenses her arc across writer Chris Claremont’s almost-200 issue run on “X-Men.” Have her join the X-Men as a total rookie and then grow from the team’s scaredy-cat little sister into a capable heroine all of her own. Navarette, who’s currently 25-years-old, is on the younger side and looks it. (Indeed, the leads of “Obsession” being Gen Z is a key part of why it strikes a chord.) That youth is an important part for Kitty’s character, at least early on.
Once again, the early scenes of Nikki in “Obsession” tell me she could easily pull off Kitty’s famous pluck. If she were to stay with the character long term, then know that comic Kitty has worn several different hats; teacher, leader, ninja assassin, space traveler, and pirate captain. Marvel Studios could choose any of those adventures for their Kitty and Navarette would rise to the challenge. With Inde Navarette, we might finally get a big screen Shadowcat worthy of Kitty Pryde’s legacy as the character who most inspired Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
3. Magik
Marvel Comics
Some have read “Obsession” as a demonic possession movie, i.e. Bear’s wish brought forth an entity that took over Nikki’s body, hence the real Nikki trying to regain control of herself throughout the film. Speaking to CinemaBlend, Inde Navarette (citing director Curry Barker) said this was not the case. Rather, Bear’s wish cast a “veil” that overrode Nikki’s own personality, forcing her to be obsessed with Bear
Now, given the film places a strong line between the two Nikkis, arguing over whether it truly counts as a possession movie is splitting some hairs. But if Navarette has any interest in playing an indisputably demonic character, look no further than Illyana Rasputin/Magik. The younger sister of the X-Man Piotr Rasputin/Colossus, she was abducted by the demon Belasco and raised in the Hell dimension “Limbo.” When she returned, she had become a powerful witch and joined the X-Men as Magik
Illyana’s character is practically a mirror image of Nikki’s. There’s a great evil inside her, sometimes that physically reshapes her into the demon Darkchylde, but she tries to hold onto her human self and be a hero. Magik was last played by Anya Taylor-Joy in the quickly-forgotten 2020 film “The New Mutants,” and she deserves a second shot on the big screen. Inde Navarette might be the actress to deliver that redemption
2. Polaris
Marvel Comics
While the X-Men have an essential dozen characters or so that you’ll see pop up most consistently, their ranks are legion. The MCU has an opportunity to spotlight the many, many characters the previous X-movies never did. For that possibility, I submit Lorna Dane/Polaris, the daughter of Magneto. Distinguished by her green hair and inheritance of her father’s magnetic powers, Polaris never showed up in the “X-Men” movies.Â
Lorna had a role on short-lived series “The Gifted,” played by Emma Dumont, but she’s never made it to the big screen. That’s a mistake given how essential Magneto’s children are to his character, so now’s the time to course-correct. Polaris brims with inner conflict; she’s a hero, but one with her father’s legacy on her shoulders. She loves her father, and yet sometimes sits on the opposite side of a war against him. The drama there wouldn’t just make Polaris a compelling character all her own (one Navarette could make an acting feast out of), it’d offer the movies some fresh material for Magneto.
Several of Polaris’ stories center on not only her family, but on her mental health. She canonically lives with bipolar disorder and associated mood swings from depression to mania. One of Inde Navarette’s greatest strengths in “Obsession” was how she played Nikki’s mood swings, from tears to anger to frantic apologizing. While it’d be a mistake to equate Nikki’s… “condition” with real mental illness, Navarette’s talent leaves no doubt she could play similar mood changes in a story mining empathy, not horror, from them.
Polaris (voiced by Carolina Ravassa) recently appeared in “X-Men ’97” Season 2 as a member of the team X-Factor. That could be just the role that raises her character’s profile enough to join the movies
1. Mystique
Marvel Comics
With all the buzz about how transformative Inde Navarette’s “Possession” performance is, why not just cast her as a literal shapeshifter? Mystique is one of the most frequently featured characters across the “X-Men” movies. And yet, those same movies have rarely, if ever, gotten Mystique from the comics right. Rebecca Romijn as Mystique in the original “X-Men” movies, where she was only Magneto’s loyal henchwoman, was okay. But after Jennifer Lawrence took the part in “X-Men: First Class” and Mystique was later reframed around Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen heroic screen persona, it was all over.
While Bear is the real villain of “Obsession,” it’s still “Freaky Nikki” who spends the movie scaring us. So, leaning into that, the best Marvel casting for Navarette might not be one of the heroes, but instead the X-Men’s most famous female villain. Throughout “Obsession,” Nikki strikes an uncanny valley vibe even when trying to be romantic for Bear. That’s essential for Mystique, whose shapeshifting powers make her feel like a human-shaped chameleon. Her entire design screams that out; she’s a beautiful woman, undeniably, but in her most natural state she also has blue skin and pupil-free yellow eyes.
Those aforementioned powers also mean that Mystique doesn’t age; she only looks like it if she wants to, but she’s well over 100 years old. Moreover, she’s the mother of other adult “X-Men” characters like Nightcrawler and Rogue. Navarette might be a tad too young to pull off that side of Mystique, but coming off of “Obsession,” betting against her acting range doesn’t seem wise, either
