OPINION: Elle Fanning, Not Inde Navarrette, Should Be Marvel’s Next Mystique

Marvel Studios is dealing with a Mystique dilemma, and it isn’t a talent problem; it’s a casting logic one.

Inde Navarrette, 25-year-old breakout star of the horror hit Obsession, revealed in an interview with Variety’s Up Next podcast that she met with Jake Schreier, the director making Marvel’s upcoming X-Men film, and shared her desire to play the blue shapeshifter, Variety reports.

“I’ve been taking a lot of meetings since Obsession came out. I thought what he brought to Thunderbolts was what I used to love about Marvel,” Navarrette told Variety.

When asked which character she’d want, Navarrette didn’t need to give it much thought.

“Mystique has always been super cool…Growing up, I remember watching the behind-the-scenes process of all the prosthetics. That was super cool for me,” she told Variety.

She’s a talented actor going through a great moment. She deserves to be in a Marvel movie. She does not, however, deserve to be Mystique.

The character has always had a silhouette, and it still does

Mystique is not a dialogue-driven role. In many of her scenes, she is wearing full-body prosthetic makeup and in long takes because viewers need to register her shape before her face. That is why the two actors who played her in live-action movies have something in common: they have the same silhouette.

Rebecca Romijn, who introduced the character in Fox’s 2000 trilogy and who will reprise her role in Avengers: Doomsday coming this December, is listed at 5’11”. Jennifer Lawrence, who took the character through the prequels from 2011 to 2019, is 5’9″ tall, according to nearly every resource.

Elle Fanning is 5’9″ tall, according to nearly every profile that records such data. That is the Mystique silhouette: the tall, muscular, broad-shoulder silhouette that is the backbone of the choreography of the character.

Navarrette’s listed height varies across fan sites from 5’0″ to 5’7″, but there isn’t a single source that could provide us with reliable information. Anyway, she’s not built like the actors who played Mystique for decades, and there aren’t many parts in the Marvel universe where build influences the look.

This isn’t a criticism; it’s a casting reality. No one expects Tom Cruise to play Thanos.

Fanning has suddenly become available, and Marvel has already been interested in her.

Here’s what makes this more than just a pitch for fans.

Fanning has already been mentioned in connection with this franchise for years. She has been reportedly on the shortlist for Jean Grey along with Margaret Qualley and Daisy Edgar-Jones, according to Jeff Sneider of The Hot Mic, cited by ComicBookMovie.com. She has been rumored to play an X-Men character even before the Fox merger, per ComicBook.com.

This opportunity has just closed because Sadie Sink made her debut as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which premiered on July 31, and Samara Weaving is set to play Emma Frost in Schreier’s film, per Deadline.

So, the studio’s most obstinate almost-cast is now free from the franchise she has almost been cast for. Fanning has been nominated for an Oscar for Sentimental Value, has the genre experience from Predator: Badlands and The Neon Demon, and the acting range allowing her to embody stillness as the performance. Mystique thrives on stillness and menace. Cast her.

The second name in this mix, Hunter Schafer, has been rumored to play Mystique for months, per Cosmic Book News. Alright. It is a perfectly reasonable casting idea. Navarrette for Mystique not really.

Where Navarrette is supposed to be

The internet already realized it, and Variety questioned her about this directly.

“I feel like that’s fans campaigning for you to be Black Cat in the MCU. Have you seen that? Fans are like she must play Black Cat,” the interviewer asked, per Variety.

Navarrette’s reply was positive but not categorical:

“I love Spider-Man and I really love the Tom Holland spider press that’s happening right now… But I would love to be part of Marvel. I think it’s fun, especially since I grew up watching X-Men,” she told Variety.

Follow the fans. Felicia Hardy is a role based on charisma, physical wit, and the ability to change from charming to dangerous in one line. This precisely describes Navarrette’s acting skills as Nikki Freeman. Her fans have been discussing her potential casting as Black Cat since June.

And if Marvel wants to cast her in the mutant movie, then the common fan consensus says Kitty Pryde. That is how the general fan sentiment regarding her casting is expressed, per ComicBookMovie.com. Kitty is the audience proxy, a child entering the mansion and asking the questions the viewer wants to ask. Navarrette is good at playing someone who is overwhelmed but refuses to remain like that.

The obligatory reality check

None of the above is casting news. Marvel hasn’t announced Navarrette in any role yet, hasn’t confirmed any talk about a particular character, and Navarrette herself stressed that meetings sometimes don’t lead to anything, per Variety.

Still, she spoke about Mystique in front of a Variety camera while the director she met is currently casting. It is a public audition, whether she intended it or not.

Marvel should thank her for her interest, offer her a Black Cat suit or Kitty Pryde costume, and contact Elle Fanning for the blue paint.