Fans Want ‘Obsession’ Star to Become the DCU’s Next Zendaya-Like Breakout Star

Fan casting is one of the internet’s oldest and most beloved traditions, and it has a way of becoming louder and more convincing when an actor’s star rises fast enough. Right now, no one’s star is rising faster than Inde Navarrette’s, and the latest wave of fan art circulating online has positioned her against one of DC Comics’ most iconic and long-awaited characters, placing her side by side with Zatanna, the Mistress of Magic.

The image doing the rounds compares a photo of Navarrette dressed in a classic magician’s tuxedo, complete with top hat and white gloves, alongside a vivid piece of comic art featuring Zatanna in her signature stage illusionist costume.

The visual match has ignited a conversation that shows no sign of stopping, and it is easy to understand why. The combination of dark hair, striking features, and an obvious theatrical presence makes the comparison feel less like fan wishful thinking and more like genuine industry instinct.

Zatanna Zatara is a superhero who has appeared in DC Comics since her debut in Hawkman in November of 1964, and is depicted as a renowned sorceress belonging to the fictional Homo magi race, a subset of humans endowed with innate potential to manipulate magic. She is the daughter of the magician John Zatara, and holds an on-off relationship with anti-hero John Constantine, while her distinctive powers are cast through speaking incantations backwards.

She has been a member of the Justice League and Justice League Dark, has appeared in animated series and live-action television across decades, and has never received a standalone feature film, despite years of development attempts.

Navarrette is a 25-year-old actress who received critical acclaim for her performance as Nikki Freeman in the horror film ‘Obsession’ earlier this year, having previously been known for playing Sarah Cushing in ‘Superman and Lois’ from 2021 to 2024. The ‘Obsession’ performance elevated her profile in a way that very few debut horror turns manage, with critics and audiences singling her out as one of the year’s most magnetic screen presences. Her ability to capture both a terrifying antagonist and a tragic victim in a single performance earned widespread praise, with the film becoming one of the surprise hits of the year.

Her work in ‘Obsession’ earned her a Best Performance win at the Seattle International Film Festival, and a fan-driven Oscar campaign has been building momentum around her name heading into awards season. All of that attention is now spilling over into franchise conversations, and the Zatanna comparison is the one currently generating the most heat.

The argument for Navarrette as Zatanna goes beyond superficial aesthetics. Zatanna is a character who operates at the intersection of theatrical performance and genuine power, a stage illusionist whose magic is entirely real. She has been a member of the Justice League, led the supernatural spin-off team Justice League Dark, and is widely considered the face of the supernatural side of the DC Universe. Playing her requires an actor who can sell both the spectacle and the emotional weight beneath it, someone who can command a stage and make an audience believe simultaneously.

A live-action Zatanna movie was previously in development with Emerald Fennell attached as writer before the project was canceled in 2021, leaving the character without a confirmed path into James Gunn’s new DC Universe. With the DCU currently building its chapter one slate through projects like ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’ and ‘Clayface’, the supernatural corner of the universe remains largely unmapped, which means the conversation around who could eventually bring Zatanna to life is wide open.

Navarrette has also been linked in industry chatter to the lead role in Amazon’s upcoming adaptation of Rebecca Yarros’ ‘Fourth Wing’, signaling that her post-‘Obsession’ trajectory is already being watched closely by multiple major studios. The volume of attention she is attracting across fantasy and supernatural character conversations suggests that someone in the industry is going to move fast.

Whether or not any official Zatanna casting announcement is forthcoming, the fan campaign now has enough momentum to be taken seriously. Navarrette has expressed a desire to continue exploring the horror and genre space, and given the limelight generated by ‘Obsession’, the chances of her cementing herself in exactly this kind of supernatural leading role continue to grow.

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