With a new generation of X-Men upon us, the roster is slowly but surely filling out. After quietly climbing the rungs of Hollywood popularity, from American Born Chinese and Karate Kid: Legends to last year’s The Long Walk, Ben Wang is circling a part in Marvel Studios’ upcoming X-Men film reboot.
It isn’t just any role either. As Deadline reports, the up-and-coming talent is in talks to play Iceman, a founding member of the mutant superhero team, originally portrayed by Shawn Ashmore in the 20th Century Fox films from 2000 to 2014. Should the deal close, he will join a sprawling cast that includes Kit Connor as Cyclops, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, Maya Boyd as Storm, Asa Germann as Angel, Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Christopher Abbott as Professor Charles Xavier, and Adam Driver as Mr Sinister.
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Iceman, aka Bobby Drake, was introduced in the first issue of The X-Men comic book in 1963. The character can manipulate ice and cold by freezing water vapour around him, allowing him to freeze objects and cover his body in ice, and has a relatively high profile among the X-Men lineup due to frequent appearances in X-Men and Spider-Man-related media.
Directed by Thunderbolts* helmer Jake Schreier from a script by his Beef collaborator Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo, the new feature marks the first reboot of the mutant team since 2019’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix and their first outing under the Marvel Studios umbrella. It’s slated for theatrical release on 5 May 2028, with story details under wraps.
Before that, Wang will reunite with The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence on Sunrise on the Reaping, due out on 20 November, following The Long Walk. In the prequel, he plays Wyatt Callow, one of the tributes from District 12 alongside Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada), who would later become the mentor of original protagonist Katniss Everdeen. Set 24 years before the first movie, it follows 16-year-old Haymitch as he competes in the 50th Hunger Games — the violent, bloody Second Quarter Quell that formed a defining chapter in his story – which enlists twice as many tributes in a fight to the death.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
