OBSESSION Star Inde Navarrette Confirms Meeting With X-Men Director Jake Schreier and Wants to Play Mystique
After Obsession turned into one of the year's biggest surprise hits, pulling in more than $400 million worldwide on a modest budget, Inde Navarrette has quickly become one of Hollywood's most exciting rising stars.
With that kind of breakout success, it isn't surprising that studios are eager to get in a room with her, and one of those meetings just happened to be with Marvel Studios.
Speaking on Variety's Up Next podcast, Navarrette opened up about what life has been like since Obsession exploded at the box office, explaining that her schedule has been filled with conversations with filmmakers she's admired for years.
“I’ve been taking a lot of meetings since Obsession came out. That’s been really nice because you get to meet people and ask questions.”
Among those meetings was one with Jake Schreier, the director of Thunderbolts, who is now developing Marvel Studios' highly anticipated X-Men reboot. While Navarrette didn't reveal exactly what they discussed, it’s not hard to connect the dots.
The actress grew up with Fox's original X-Men movies and said Schreier's work on Thunderbolts reminded her of what made Marvel stories resonate with her in the first place.
“I thought what Jake brought to Thunderbolts* was what I used to love about Marvel. It was character-driven, and the whole time I just couldn’t stop yapping about how much I appreciated what he did with Marvel.”
That appreciation doesn't necessarily mean she's already signed on for a mutant role. Navarrette made it clear that many of these meetings are simply opportunities to connect with filmmakers and creative teams, whether a project comes from them or not.
“That’s kind of the luxury I have right now, meeting all these different kinds of people,” she said. “Not all of those meetings turn into projects, but sometimes it’s just, ‘I really want to work with you. I’ve seen this project, and this one, and this one.’”
Marvel Studios is currently laying the groundwork for its next generation of mutants. Before Schreier launches his new X-Men film, several familiar faces from Fox's franchise will return in Avengers: Doomsday this December, including Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier, Ian McKellen as Magneto, James Marsden as Cyclops, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, and Rebecca Romijn as Mystique.
Then, after Avengers: Secret Wars arrives in 2027, Marvel is expected to move forward with a younger cast of mutants in Schreier's X-Men movie. Sadie Sink is already set to play Jean Grey after being introduced in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Samara Weaving will play Emma Frost, making it clear that Marvel is building toward an entirely new era for the team.
As for Navarrette, she already has a favorite mutant in mind. “I mean, Mystique has always been super cool.”
Honestly, that's a casting choice I'd love to see happen. Navarrette delivered an outstanding performance in Obsession, proving she has the screen presence, emotional range, and charisma to carry a major franchise.
Mystique is much more than a shape-shifter. The character needs an actress who can balance vulnerability, confidence, intelligence, and danger, and Navarrette feels like someone who could absolutely bring all of those qualities to the role.
Interestingly, previous reports have also suggested that she could be in the mix to play Rogue, another fan-favorite mutant. That would be an excellent fit as well, but if Navarrette gets to choose, Mystique is clearly the character she's most excited about.
It's hard to argue with that pick, and after seeing what she accomplished in Obsession, she'd be a fantastic addition to Marvel's new generation of X-Men no matter which mutant she ultimately ends up playing.