'The Hunger Games' Ben Wang to Join MCU as 'X-Men' Iceman, Report Says

[Update]:

Journalist Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Gabriel LaBelle, Jackson Kelly, and Rhenzy Feliz were vying for the role with Wang, who eventually won the part.

[Original report]:

According to Deadline, actor Ben Wang, from The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping and Karate Kid Legends, is in negotiations to play Iceman in the next X-Men movie.

Bobby Drake is one of the founding members of the X-Men in the comics, having been created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the very first issue of the mutant comic, alongside Jean Grey, Beast, Cyclops, Angel, and Drake himself.

In the Fox films, the caracter was played by Shawn Ashmore. If the new version of the character takes into account the redesign he has received in recent decades, his powers will be Omega-level, rivaling Storm and Jean Grey in terms of power within the mutant team.

Everything you need to know about the new X-Men

The movie, directed by Jake Schreier (Thunderbolts*), is set to premiere on May 5, 2028 and will star Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Inde Navarette as Rogue, Adam Driver as Mr. Sinister, Christopher Abbot as Professor X, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost and Maya Boyd as Storm.

X-Men had a long run in theaters, with films produced by Fox since the early 2000s. An initial trilogy was made, and later the mutant group went through a sort of reboot, with an entirely new cast. In 2019, Fox was acquired by Disney, which has since been paving the way for the characters’ return to the big screen under new leadership.