Inde Navarrette to host SNL Halloween show ahead of X-Men role
Inde Navarrette will host the Halloween episode of Saturday Night Live, the long-running American sketch show, with singer Gracie Abrams as musical guest. She shared the news with Variety's Marc Malkin on the carpet at the Newport Beach Film Festival, in an interview published on Oct. 19 Variety. The booking puts her at the centre of one of the show's most watched nights of the year.
She arrived there straight from another carpet. Navarrette went from the Academy Museum Gala on Saturday to the Newport Beach Film Festival on Sunday. At Newport Beach she attended as one of Variety's 10 Actors to Watch, a group celebrated during the festival's Honor Brunch.
The gala came first. Navarrette appeared on the Academy Museum Gala 2026 red carpet on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, wearing Schiaparelli couture Yahoo. She attended as an actress in 'Obsession', according to red-carpet coverage Rotten Tomatoes. It was a star-filled room, and she had a short wish list.
She named Jessica Lange and Pamela Anderson as two actresses she was excited to see that night. She said she did get to speak to Lange at the gala. She did not describe the conversation in detail.
She spoke at greater length about Anderson. Navarrette said Anderson carries herself with grace, honesty, creativity and love and is exactly who she wants to be. Short line, big compliment. It framed the evening as a working actor meeting people whose careers she admires.
She is joining them on bigger stages. Navarrette will play Rogue in the forthcoming X-Men film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the linked series of Marvel films and television shows. She said she has not corresponded directly with Anna Paquin, who played Rogue in the earlier X-Men films.
Physical preparation is still ahead. Navarrette said stunt training for X-Men is a good excuse to get in the gym and she is excited to get up and move her body. The SNL hosting job comes first.
She is in notable company this season. Jaafar Jackson, Ray Nicholson and Rosalind Eleazar were also named to Variety's 10 Actors to Watch for 2026, in a list published on Oct. 7 Variety. For fans, this means Navarrette's rise is happening in public, from a couture gala to a festival brunch to live television, before she steps into the superhero role.
