Could Inde Navarrette’s ‘X-Men’ Reboot Rogue Steal Carol Danvers’ Powers Just Like in the Comics?
Marvel’s mutant era is officially underway, and fans are already digging through comic book history to guess where the rebooted team might be headed. With casting news dominating superhero social media this month, speculation has quickly turned from who is playing who to what these characters might actually do once cameras start rolling.
That speculation intensified after Marvel Insights, a fan account on X, floated a theory tying Rogue directly to Carol Danvers. The post pointed out that Rogue’s signature mutant ability lets her absorb another person’s powers and memories through physical touch, and suggested that during the events of ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’, Rogue could drain Carol Danvers and walk away with Captain Marvel-level abilities.
The theory has real comic book roots. Rogue debuted as a villain in Avengers Annual #10 back in 1981, created by Chris Claremont and Michael Golden, and the character permanently absorbed Carol Danvers’ powers and psyche before eventually defecting to join the X-Men in 1983. That storyline left Carol Danvers stripped of her abilities for years and turned Rogue into one of the most formidable mutants in Marvel’s roster, so the idea of the film universe revisiting that dynamic isn’t exactly far-fetched for longtime readers.
What’s grounding the theory in current news is the casting of Inde Navarrette as Rogue. Marvel confirmed at Disney’s D23 showcase that Navarrette, the breakout star of horror hit ‘Obsession’, will play Rogue in the studio’s upcoming ‘X-Men’ reboot. The announcement arrived alongside a wave of other reveals, with the full cast including Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Christopher Abbott as Professor X, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Navarrette as Rogue, and Maya Boyd as Storm, with Adam Driver joining as the film’s villain.
The timeline matters here too. The reboot is directed by Jake Schreier and is set for a May 2028 release, positioned as the MCU’s first ‘X-Men’ entry following ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’. That means any on-screen power absorption between Rogue and Carol Danvers, if it happens at all, would more plausibly unfold in the X-Men film itself rather than in ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’, though crossover speculation is already running wild given how tightly Marvel has been threading its mutant storylines into the broader Saga.
Navarrette’s casting has generated its own share of discourse independent of the powers theory. Some fans have questioned whether her recent popularity from ‘Obsession’ played a major role in landing the high-profile role, while others have pushed back, arguing that a strong performance in a smaller project naturally leads to bigger opportunities. Interestingly, Navarrette had previously said publicly that she was hoping to land Mystique rather than Rogue before the announcement, leaving that role still open for future casting reveals.
Adding a nostalgic wrinkle to the rollout, Lenore Zann, who has voiced Rogue across three decades of animated X-Men projects, welcomed Navarrette to the role with a video message filmed in Dublin, delivered in Rogue’s trademark Southern drawl. The gesture was widely shared as a passing-of-the-torch moment for a character who has largely lived on screen through Anna Paquin’s live-action take and Zann’s animated version until now.
As for the Instagram detail referenced in the viral post, it’s the kind of breadcrumb fans love to chase, though nothing official ties Navarrette’s social media activity to any specific plot direction. Marvel has not confirmed any Rogue-Carol Danvers power absorption storyline, and until Schreier’s film reveals more about its script, the theory remains fan speculation built on decades of comic book precedent rather than a studio-confirmed plot point. Still, with ‘X-Men’ still two years away, this is likely just the first of many theories to swirl around Rogue’s live-action debut.
