‘Obsession’ Breakout Inde Navarrette Says She’s Open to Joining the Marvel Universe After Meeting ‘X-Men’ Director Jake Schreier

Horror movies rarely turn into career-defining moments overnight, but every so often, one performance changes the entire trajectory for an actor almost instantly. That is exactly what has happened this year for a young star whose face went from recognizable supporting player to one of the most talked-about names in Hollywood within a matter of months.

Inde Navarrette first built a following through television work, including a run as Sarah Cushing on The CW’s ‘Superman and Lois’ and a season-long stint on ‘Thirteen Reasons Why,’ but nothing prepared audiences for what came next. Her lead performance as Nikki Freeman in the horror thriller ‘Obsession’ turned into one of the genre’s biggest sleeper hits, with the film’s tiny 750,000 dollar budget exploding into a global haul that has now surpassed 400 million dollars.

That kind of breakout has a way of opening doors that simply were not there before, and Navarrette is now confirming exactly how far those doors have swung open. In a new interview, the actress revealed that she has recently met with Jake Schreier, the director behind Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolts,’ who is now attached to the studio’s upcoming ‘X-Men’ film, marking one of the clearest signs yet that a major superhero role could be in her future.

Navarrette has been candid throughout her post ‘Obsession’ press run about the kinds of filmmakers she dreams of working with, naming directors including Ryan Coogler and Greta Gerwig alongside Schreier and veteran filmmaker Michael Mann. Her meeting with Mann is particularly notable given his upcoming sequel ‘Heat 2’ is currently casting for a young version of Ashley Judd’s character opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, in a cast that already includes Christian Bale, Stephen Graham, Adam Driver, and Jason Clarke.

Neither meeting has been confirmed as tied to a specific role, and industry observers have been careful to note that conversations between actors and filmmakers do not always lead to actual casting. Still, the timing lines up closely with speculation swirling around Marvel’s X-Men reboot, which has kept its casting details largely under wraps while fans speculate about who might fill out its ensemble.

Beyond those two high profile meetings, Navarrette has also expressed genuine interest in expanding into other genres, including action films and a potential lead role in Amazon’s upcoming adaptation of the fantasy novel “Fourth Wing.” That range of ambition suggests she is not looking to lock herself into any single franchise, even one as culturally dominant as the X-Men, while she has an unusually wide array of options currently on the table.

Navarrette’s rise has been swift enough that critics have already started drawing comparisons to some of horror’s most memorable modern performances. Reviews praised her ability to reveal the humanity behind Nikki’s more violent moments, with one critic comparing the character’s impact to genre defining performances in films like “The Exorcist” and “Carrie,” while another floated her as a potential Academy Award contender.

With ‘Obsession’ now standing as one of the most profitable films of the year relative to its budget, and Navarrette fielding meetings with some of the industry’s most sought-after directors, her next project decision is shaping up to be one of the more closely watched moves in Hollywood casting circles. Whether that turns out to be an X-Men film, a Michael Mann crime epic, or something else entirely, her star has clearly risen far beyond where anyone expected just a year ago.

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