D23 2026: Inde Navarrette Cast as Rogue in Marvel's X-Men Reboot
Update log (1)
- — Written from Marvel's own announcement, published 14 August 2026, rather than from the trade write-ups of it. That matters for two names: the studio's text says Scott Summers and Nathaniel Milbury, while most headlines say Cyclops and Mr. Sinister. Feige said further casting is still to come, so the seven names here are a first group and this page will need revisiting.
- Inde Navarrette plays Rogue in Marvel Studios’ untitled X-Men film, announced by Kevin Feige at D23 and published by Marvel on 14 August 2026. She is 25, and until now was best known as Sarah Cushing across four seasons of the DC series Superman and Lois — so this is a move from one comics universe to the other.
- Six more names came with hers: Sadie Sink, Kit Connor, Christopher Abbott, Samara Weaving, Maya Boyd and Adam Driver. Feige said more casting is still to come, so this is a first group rather than a full roster.
- Marvel did not say Mr. Sinister. Its announcement names Adam Driver’s character as Nathaniel Milbury — an alias the comics attach to Mister Sinister — and Driver teased Magneto before cutting himself off. Every headline calling him Mr. Sinister is reading between the lines, accurately or not.
- Marvel did not say Cyclops either, in the text. Kit Connor is introduced as Scott Summers, and Sadie Sink as Jean Grey. The character tags on Marvel’s own article go further than its prose does, listing Phoenix and Cyclops (Ultimate) — and listing nothing at all for Driver.
- The film is still untitled, has no trailer and no plot description. It opens in cinemas on 5 May 2028 and is directed by Jake Schreier, who made Thunderbolts*. Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey has already appeared once, in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Inde Navarrette is playing Rogue. Marvel Studios named her at D23 on Friday, in a seven-actor announcement that Kevin Feige used to close the presentation, and published the list on 14 August 2026.
Below is the full group, the two character names Marvel pointedly did not use, and what the studio still has not told anyone about the film.
Who is playing Rogue in the new X-Men movie?
Inde Navarrette, in Marvel Studios’ untitled X-Men film, out 5 May 2028. She was introduced onstage alongside four other new castmates, after Sadie Sink opened the segment.
Navarrette is 25 and, until this, was best known for a DC show. She played Sarah Cushing across four seasons of Superman and Lois, from 2021 to 2024, which makes this a crossing from one comics universe to the other rather than a debut.
Who else is in the X-Men cast?
Seven actors were announced, and Feige said more are coming. This is the first group rather than the full team.
| Actor | Marvel’s wording |
|---|---|
| Sadie Sink | Jean Grey |
| Kit Connor | Scott Summers |
| Christopher Abbott | Professor Charles Xavier |
| Samara Weaving | Emma Frost |
| Inde Navarrette | Rogue |
| Maya Boyd | Storm |
| Adam Driver | Nathaniel Milbury |
Sink is the only one already on screen in the part: her Jean Grey turned up in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Director Jake Schreier joined her onstage before the others were brought out, and Driver appeared by video rather than in person, filming from a soundstage at Pinewood.
Is Adam Driver playing Mr. Sinister?
Marvel did not say so. Its announcement calls the character Nathaniel Milbury and describes him only as sinister, which is doing a lot of work in a sentence that avoids the actual name.
The inference is not unreasonable. In the comics, Mister Sinister’s usual identity is Dr. Nathaniel Essex, and one of his aliases is Dr. Nathan Milbury, under which he ran an obstetrics clinic in New York. Marvel’s Nathaniel Milbury merges the two, so it matches neither exactly.
Driver played the ambiguity for a laugh, starting to name a different villain before stopping himself: “I’m very excited to be playing Mag…. Nope.” Read that as a Magneto tease, a misdirect, or both — but note that the studio has not confirmed either villain, and left itself the room to introduce this character as a man before he is anything else.
What do Marvel’s own tags say?
More than its sentences do. The character list attached to Marvel’s article is not identical to the character names in the text of it.
| In the prose | In the article’s tags |
|---|---|
| Jean Grey | Phoenix (Jean Grey) |
| Scott Summers | Cyclops (Ultimate) |
| Emma Frost | Emma Frost |
| Rogue | Rogue |
| Storm | Storm |
| Professor Charles Xavier | Professor X |
| Nathaniel Milbury | no tag |
Two things stand out. The "(Ultimate)" qualifier on Cyclops is Marvel’s own word, and it points at a specific comics continuity rather than the familiar one. And Driver’s character has no tag at all, while every other announced role does — which is a second, quieter signal that the studio is not ready to say who he is.
Who is Inde Navarrette?
An American actor, born 3 March 2001, with one long-running series and a recent horror lead behind her.
| Title | Role | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Reasons Why | Estela de la Cruz | Season 4 |
| Superman and Lois | Sarah Cushing | 2021–2024 |
| Obsession | Nikki Freeman | 2026 |
The Superman and Lois run is the substantial credit — four seasons of a network comics show — and Obsession is the recent one, a horror film that drew good notices for her earlier this year. Rogue is a considerable step up in scale from either.
When does the X-Men movie come out?
5 May 2028, in cinemas only. The film is directed by Jake Schreier, whose previous Marvel Studios feature was Thunderbolts*.
| Release | 5 May 2028 |
| Format | Theatrical exclusive |
| Director | Jake Schreier |
| Title | Not announced |
That is nearly two years away, which is worth holding on to when reading anything about this film between now and then.
What was not announced at D23?
Almost everything except the names. There is no title, no trailer, no footage description and no plot outline.
There is also no Wolverine, no Magneto and no Jubilee — and no statement about how this cast connects to the mutants who have already appeared elsewhere in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Feige said directly that more casting news is on the way.
For the Marvel film that is actually close, and actually on sale, we have a separate guide to Avengers: Doomsday’s release date, tickets and cast .
How we verified this
The cast list is Marvel’s own, not a trade summary. Marvel Studios published the announcement on its site on 14 August 2026, the day of the D23 panel, and that page is the source for every name, character and date here. The trade coverage was checked against it rather than used in place of it, which is how the two naming differences below surfaced.
Marvel never said “Mr. Sinister”, and we have not either. Its text introduces Adam Driver’s role as Nathaniel Milbury, described only as a sinister figure. The comics do connect the name: Mister Sinister, whose usual identity is Dr. Nathaniel Essex, operated in New York under the alias Dr. Nathan Milbury, running the Essex Clinic. Marvel’s version blends the two — Nathaniel Essex plus Nathan Milbury — so it is not the comics name exactly either. Every outlet reporting “Adam Driver as Mr. Sinister” is drawing that inference. It is a reasonable one and it may well be right; it is still an inference, and the studio has left itself room.
The character tags on Marvel’s page say more than its sentences do. The article’s own tag list runs: X-Men, Phoenix (Jean Grey), Cyclops (Ultimate), Emma Frost, Rogue, Storm, Professor X. So the studio’s metadata does say Cyclops and Phoenix even where its prose says Scott Summers and Jean Grey, and the “(Ultimate)” qualifier is the studio’s, not ours. There is no tag for Driver’s character at all — which is the second reason we are not printing a name he was not given.
One quotation is used and the rest is paraphrased. Driver’s line about the role he is not playing is quoted because the joke is the point; everything else said on stage is summarised.
What is not here, because it was not announced. No title, no trailer, no plot synopsis, no footage description, no Wolverine, no Magneto, no confirmation of which continuity this sits in beyond that one metadata tag. Feige said explicitly that more casting news is coming. A cast list this early is a starting position, not a final one.
Inde Navarrette’s credits are from her filmography rather than from the D23 stage. Marvel introduced her by name and role only. The Superman and Lois, 13 Reasons Why and Obsession credits below are hers on the public record, included because “who is she” is the question the announcement raises and the announcement does not answer.