Karate Kid star Ben Wang in talks to play Iceman in Marvel’s new X-Men film

Dubai: Marvel Studios may have found its Iceman.

Ben Wang, star of Karate Kid: Legends and The Long Walk, is in talks to play Bobby Drake, better known as Iceman, in Marvel's upcoming X-Men film, The Wrap reported, following an initial report by Deadline.

Iceman is one of the five original X-Men and first appeared in The X-Men #1 in 1963. He's a mutant who can generate ice and freeze his opponents.

In Fox's earlier X-Men films, the role was played by Shawn Ashmore, whose last appearance as the character was in X-Men: Days of Future Past in 2014.

Wang was reportedly chosen from a shortlist of young actors. According to The Hollywood Reporter's Borys Kit, Gabriel LaBelle, of The Fabelmans, Jackson Kelly, of The Pitt, and Rhenzy Feliz, of The Penguin, were also in the running.

The X-Men line-up so far

Directed by Jake Schreier, who made Marvel's Thunderbolts*, the film is set for release on May 5, 2028. Joanna Calo, Lee Sung Jin and Michael Lesslie are writing the film, and Kevin Feige is producing.

If Wang's deal goes through, he'll join a growing cast:

That leaves Beast as the only one of the five original X-Men still to be cast. Peter Claffey is reportedly the frontrunner for the role, though this has not been confirmed, ComicBookMovie reported.

Plot details have not been revealed.

Wang has had a busy couple of years. He played Li Fong, the lead, in Karate Kid: Legends, and starred in The Long Walk, the Stephen King adaptation. His other credits include the 2024 Mean Girls film, the comedy Gail Daughtry, and the Disney+ series American Born Chinese. He also appears in the final season of Apple's For All Mankind.

UAE audiences will see him on the big screen again very soon. Wang plays Wyatt Callow in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, according to The Wrap.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is in UAE cinemas from Thursday, November 19