Who wants a sno-cone the size of a skyscraper? If you raised your hand, Ben Wang might oblige. According to Deadline, American Born Chinese and The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping actor Ben Wang is circling the role of the mutant Iceman in Marvel Studios‘ upcoming X-Men film.
While Wang’s casting remains unconfirmed, Deadline says Gabriel LaBelle (The Fabelmans), Jackson Kelly (Oak Thorn & The Old Rose of Love), and Rhenzy Feliz (The Runaways) also tested for the role.
As one of Charles Xavier’s original five X-Men, Bobby Drake, better known as Iceman, has spent decades proving he’s far more than a quippy, cool-headed kid throwing up ice slides and snowballs. Beneath that slick, omega-level exterior lies a mutant powerhouse capable of thermal manipulation on a global scale, freezing moisture out of thin air, reconstructing his own body from vapor, and turning absolute zero into an artistic, high-stakes flex. But what truly makes Iceman such an enduring figure isn’t just his jaw-dropping power ceiling; it’s the classic, human heart beneath the frosted armor, navigating the weight of mutant survival, coming out, and finding his true self with a sharp sense of humor intact.
Should Wang lock down the cool-headed mutant, he’d join an already stacked ensemble that includes Christopher Abbott as Professor Charles Xavier, Adam Driver as Mr. Sinister, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, Maya Boyd as Storm, Asa Germann as Angel, and Sadie Sink as Jean Grey. Jake Schreier is directing X-Men from a script by his Beef collaborator Lee Sung Jin, along with Joanna Calo. Kevin Feige is producing the pic slated for release in theaters on May 5, 2028.
Marvel’s X-Men movie marks the studio’s biggest swing since the finale of its Endgame era. Other films and characters have come along, of course, but reintroducing the X-Men is a bold play that could set the studio up for years’ worth of films, spinoffs, and solo ventures. The mutant saga presents Marvel with a vast network of stories, pulling from elements of political intrigue, societal strife, and time-traveling mutant mayhem. It all begins when select members of the X-Men appear in Avengers: Doomsday, coming to theaters on December 16, 2026.