Ben Wang, the breakout star of Karate Kid: Legends, is in talks to play Bobby Drake, better known as Iceman, in Marvel Studios’ X-Men reboot, TheWrap reports, following Deadline’s first report.
If the deal closes, Wang would round out four of the five original X-Men from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s 1963 comic, joining Kit Connor as Cyclops, Asa Germann as Angel and Sadie Sink as Jean Grey. Sink first played Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Beast is the only founding member who has not been cast. Marvel has not commented on Wang’s casting.
Wang has quickly become one of Hollywood’s most closely watched young actors. After leading Karate Kid: Legends, he starred in The Long Walk, the adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian novel. Iceman would be his first superhero role.
A deep bench, with Inde Navarrette as Rogue
The ensemble already includes several names Cup of Soul readers will recognize. Inde Navarrette, the Mexican American actor who hosted “Saturday Night Live” last weekend, is set as Rogue, one of the franchise’s most beloved mutants. Maya Boyd plays Storm, Samara Weaving plays Emma Frost, Christopher Abbott plays Professor X and Adam Driver plays the villain Mr. Sinister.
Abbott takes over a role defined on screen by Patrick Stewart, who died last week at 86.
Jake Schreier, who directed Marvel’s Thunderbolts*, is returning to direct from a script by Joanna Calo, Lee Sung Jin and Michael Lesslie. X-Men opens in theaters May 5, 2028. It is set to be the first Marvel film released after Avengers: Secret Wars, which is scheduled for December 2027.
