Inde Navarrette Plans Mississippi Trip For Rogue Accent Work: “Corpus Christi Is The City Specifically”

Inde Navarrette says her Southern upbringing and trip to Mississippi will inspire her portrayal of Rogue in Marvel Studios’ X-Men.

“I have a divorced family; I grew up in Texas for a good majority of my life,” Navarrette said, according to Entertainment Tonight. “So honestly, those Southern women are really my favorite; Corpus Christi is the city specifically.”

Entertainment Tonight also reports that she plans to visit Rogue’s Mississippi for inspiration for the role.

Rogue’s accent is crucial. As stated in the comics, she was raised in Caldecott County, Mississippi, a rural region located near the Mississippi River and the bayous. It has been her defining feature in many adaptations.

Born in Tucson, Arizona, Navarrette, 25, has a Mexican father who served in the US Marine Corps, while her mother, Tossi Fox, is Australian. Because of her father’s military career, Navarrette’s family moved frequently; she attended 11 different schools until age 15, after which her parents divorced.

She began acting as a teenager in short films, then joined Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why in 2020 and The CW’s Superman & Lois from 2021 to 2024. However, she rose to fame after playing Nikki Freeman in the supernatural horror film Obsession, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025 and debuted in US cinemas on May 15, 2026, from Focus Features. Critics praised her performance for its emotional honesty and intensity.

Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, announced the new mutant ensemble at D23 on Aug. 15, 2026. Apart from Navarrette portraying Rogue, other cast members include Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Christopher Abbott as Professor X, Maya Boyd as Storm, and Adam Driver as Mister Sinister. Jake Schreier will be directing the movie, which is scheduled for release on May 5, 2028.

The casting decision became a major topic of discussion online; some fans believe Navarrette’s rapid rise after Obsession influenced the choice. Cailee Spaeny was the top fan favorite before the casting.

Anna Paquin portrayed Rogue in Fox’s X-Men movies from 2000 to 2014, where she was more isolated, unlike the boisterous, heavily accented Rogue from the 1990s animated series and its reboot, X-Men ’97, where Lenore Zann voiced her.

This will be the first X-Men ensemble movie since Fox’s Dark Phoenix in 2019. Feige claims this is the start of mutant movies.